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Mercedes Lewis Hamilton made history on Sunday when he raced to his 92nd Formula 1 victory in stunning style at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
The Briton not only notched his eighth win for the 2020 season and his first at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, but he also surpassed legendary Michael Schumacher’s all-time Formula 1 win record.
“I could only ever have dreamed of being where I am today,” said an elated Hamilton. “I didn’t have a crystal ball when I chose to come to this team and partner with these great people. Everything that we do together, we are all rowing in the same direction and that’s why you’re seeing the success that we’re having.”
It has taken him 262 races to reach this remarkable achievement, having scored his first win at Canada in his debut season in 2007.
He is the only driver to have taken a win in every season in which he has competed, now stretching across 14 years in F1.
Hamilton, who was thrilled to have his dad Anthony, step-mum Linda and pooch Roscoe with him to mark the momentous occasion, added: “I owe these 92 wins to the team here and the factory for their tremendous work.
“It’s been such a privilege working with them and I am so grateful for all the moments. The reliability has been incredible thanks to the Mercedes team, PETRONAS and all our partners who are continuously pushing.
“No one is sitting back on the success; everyone is pushing and pushing. That’s the most incredible thing to be surrounded by; it inspires you and there’s nothing quite like it.”
Having started from pole position, Hamilton’s victory originally looked bleak after a dramatic opening lap that saw him get passed by both his teammate Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz.
Sainz took the lead from Bottas a lap later, as the Mercedes pair struggled to get their medium tyres fired up.
Hamilton said: “It was all about tyre temperatures and that’s something I was able to, with the set-up, I pre-empted it. They said it was going to rain only after the race finished, but we got some drops at the start and going into Turn 7 there was a huge oversteer moment and then you didn’t know what was next.
“I really backed up massively and I should have probably defended from Valtteri, but I said to myself that I’d come by later and fortunately that’s what I was able to do.
“It’s an incredibly physical sport. I had a cramp in my right calf and I had to lift quite often down the straight because it was about to pull. It was pretty painful, but I had to get through it because it is what it is and you can’t lift the whole lap!”
Once up to temperature, Mercedes quickly re-passed Sainz. Hamilton was then able to out-drag Bottas on Lap 20 of 66 to take a lead that he would only briefly relinquish in the pits.
Hamilton was 10 seconds clear of Bottas when he pitted for the hard tyre with 25 laps to go.
Despite some further brief showers, Hamilton eased his way to a record-breaking victory, finishing well clear of Bottas, who came in second, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Hamilton has moved 77 points clear of Bottas in the championship, and that seventh title is probably now just two or three races away.
The next race will be in Italy’s fabled Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari – better known as Imola. The inaugural Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will feature a two-day weekend format, with a single practice session and qualifying on Saturday, followed by the race on Sunday.
