Hamilton on brink of equalling another record

Having already broken the record for Formula One (F1) race wins, Lewis Hamilton can equal the mark for championship titles tomorrow at the Turkish Grand Prix (GP).

Hamilton only needs to finish ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to secure his seventh F1 title, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record.

“It was far beyond my wildest dreams thinking that we’d get to seven,” Hamilton said. “Getting one world championship was great and then it was very tough, obviously, to get the second.”

Hamilton, who won his first world title with McLaren in 2008 but only added his second in 2014 after leaving to join Mercedes, has dominated the sport since that move, and this season he broke Schumacher’s record of 92 race wins. He is looking for his 94th tomorrow, and enters the race with an 85-point lead over Bottas in the championship standings.

The Finnish driver needs to score eight points more than Hamilton in Istanbul to keep his challenge alive. Hamilton could even clinch the title in some scenarios, even if he finishes behind his teammate, for instance if Bottas is third (15 points) and Hamilton places sixth (eight points) or better. If both fail to finish the race the title will be Hamilton’s, with only 78 points available in the three races to follow.

Regardless of whether he clinches tomorrow, a seventh title seems inevitable for Hamilton, who has nine victories from 13 races this season, including the past three GPs.

The only doubt surrounding him these days is whether he will sign a new contract with Mercedes, or if he’ll quit F1 at the age of 35 and pursue other interests like fashion and music.

“Believe it or not, I haven’t got it set in stone. I haven’t got all the answers to what I want to do yet,” Hamilton said. “I believe I have the best contract that there is, in terms of how it’s structured and time management. ... (But) there’s a lot to discuss and a lot to go through.”

Hamilton, who says he wants to help further Mercedes’ drive on environmental and racial diversity issues, suggested discussions will take place at the end of the year. The season ends with the Abu Dhabi GP on December 13.

AP