Schumacher Records that Hamilton can Beat

In Mexico, Lewis Hamilton romped to his fifth F1 world championship. With this, he has now equalled Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio in the number of titles. However, the Briton will surely be eyeing more records to put under his belt. The owner of most of the remaining records is none other than the Red Baron, Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher is the proud owner of a number of records in his 18-year long career. But, Hamilton is edging ever closer to them. As the 2018 season slowly begins to wind down, all eyes are on 2019.

So without further ado, here are some Schumacher records that Lewis Hamilton can break.

This is a record dominated by ‘The Red Baron’ Michael Schumacher. The German has recorded a win in 15 seasons from 1992-2006. Lewis Hamilton is 2nd with a record of a Grand Prix win in 12 consecutive seasons. At the age of 33, Hamilton still has an opportunity to equal or even beat Schumacher’s record. Realistically, it will be difficult, given that the 5-time world champion is not getting any younger. But on the flip side of the coin, the Mercedes car has been very dominant and a win in every season is almost guaranteed.

Out of 308 starts, Ferrari legend, Michael Schumacher has achieved 155 podiums while Lewis has achieved 132 podiums from 227 starts. This means that Lewis Hamilton is only 23 podiums behind Schumacher. With age and a quick and competitive car on Hamilton’s side, it is possible for Lewis to depose Michael. Another factor that might work in Hamilton’s favour is the number of races. Back in Michael’s time, the F1 season normally lasted 18-19 races. But with the calendar now pushing on 20 races and if Lewis finishes every race on the podium, he would need 2 F1 seasons to catch and pass Schumacher.

Another record held by Schumacher and closely followed by Hamilton. The German has achieved a hat-trick in a total of 22 races, Lewis on the other hand has scored pole, won the race and set the fastest lap 14 times. In other words, the 33-year old is only 8 behind the German in the all-time standings. If he can do this feat in 9 races, he can leapfrog Michael Schumacher. He is under no threat from behind as the closest person is Sebastian Vettel who has only 8.

Hamilton won the Canadian Grand Prix 6 times, namely 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017. He is 4th in the all-time list, tied with Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Schumacher again occupies the top spot with 8 wins at the French Grand Prix in 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006. If Hamilton can win in Canada 3 more times between 2018 and whenever he chooses to retire, he will be the only driver to win the most number of times at the same Grand Prix. However, a word of caution as 3 wins for the Briton are not set in stone, he still has to fend off challenges from his rivals. As the saying goes, ‘It ain’t over till the fat lady sings’. The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix was enough proof of that.

Two years ago, everyone would have said that beating Michael Schumacher’s 91 wins is as easy as counting grains of sand on a beach. However, given how much Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton has been dominating the scene, catching Schumacher seems possible. The Englishman currently has 62 wins under his belt and is in the prime of his career. Also considering that there are around 20 races in a season, you can bet your bottom dollar that Lewis Hamilton will notch up a few wins and inch closer to the magic number 91. With a car that dominant, racking up 30 more wins could be a breeze.