Nothing could stop Lewis Hamilton. Winner of the Turkish Grand Prix this Sunday, he matches, with style, the record of 7 world titles held by German legend Michael Schumacher. Already titled in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the 35-year-old Briton signs, by the way, his 94th career victory. After more than a decade on the circuit, a certain form of weariness could take hold of this extraordinary champion, considered by some to be the greatest driver in history.
Even if the negotiation of his contract with Mercedes for 2021 has not yet started, the tears, flowing under his helmet at the finish of the Istanbul race, tell the opposite. That’s good, because he still has records to go after. According to Patrick Tambay, winner of two Grand Prix in 1982 and 1983, some are reaching out to him in the short or medium term.
An eighth world title. “He’s going to do it, no problem. Hamilton is still young (35 years old). It can drive for a long time. With a good machine, as is the case at Mercedes, and a team where he is pampered, I do not see why he would not be able to go and smash this record, assures the former French driver Patrick Tambay peremptorily. . Is he able to go even further? Regardless, everything he does is already out of the ordinary. “
Win a Grand Prix next season. “As long as he still has the niac, and he still is, then he will be hard to beat. A victory over an entire season… It seems far from insurmountable for him, ”laughs Tambay. Since his debut on the Formula 1 tracks in 2007, Hamilton has consistently won at least one Grand Prix per season. This habit has now stretched for 14 years for the pilot born in Stevenage, in the east of England. The ultimate record also belongs to Schumacher (15).
To win in the four races he misses. As it stands, it is impossible. Hamilton triumphed on 29 of the 33 circuits covered. Only those of Magny-Cours, Valencia (Spain), Korea and India, still refuse him. Problem: They’ve all been taken off the official calendar. “Already, what Schumacher had done at the time, it was sensational (Editor’s note: he was the winner on 23 circuits). So there, what Hamilton offers in terms of consistency and progression … These figures speak for themselves, continues Tambay. Me, I only won two, it’s absolutely amazing to win so many when I see all the efforts that must be made to already hang one “
Cross the 100 success mark. On October 25, Hamilton, by winning in Portugal, erased the mythical mark of victories of Schumacher (91). After Turkey, his counter is 94. He should still panic when the 2020 season must continue for three more races. “He will continue, there is no reason. But I don’t think he’s a man of numbers or records, Tambay says. He reasons race after race. Going out with a machine that will allow him to win the next race is what always turns him on. The rest, he doesn’t care. “
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