Without doubt Lewis Hamilton will go down as a Formula 1 legend as he picked up his 100th win in the sport at the Russian Grand Prix. Hamilton had already surpassed Michael Schumacher's record of 91 victories 12 months ago at the 2020 Portuguese GP, and he hasn't slowed down en route to a century of wins. Hamilton made his debut back in 2007, but nobody could have imagined that he would go on to become the first driver to win 100 races in his career. That achievement has no doubt been aided by the fact the seven-time World Champion has won a race in each of the 15 seasons he's competed in. RacingNews365.com ranks Hamilton's top 10 F1 victories.
10) Chinese GP, 2011
Every driver struggled to adapt to F1's new Pirelli era, and the 2011 Chinese GP gave teams quite a few headaches when tyre degradation became a major issue. Hamilton only just made it to the grid because of a fuel problem which McLaren discovered late on when firing the car up. In a strategically enthralling race, Hamilton overtook teammate Jenson Button and went for an aggressive three-stop strategy, whereas main rival Sebastian Vettel opted for a two-stopper. The pair battled for the lead for several corners before Hamilton went down the inside at Turn 7, an unusual overtaking spot, with four laps to go to win the race.
9) Spanish GP, 2017
Six years later, Vettel and Hamilton went head-to-head again, this time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Both drivers pushed hard to gain an advantage over the other, with Vettel edging out an early lead. However, Hamilton stayed with the Ferrari driver and attacked when he was on the Soft tyre, while Vettel was forced to use the mandatory Medium tyre compound. They raced through the traffic until Hamilton went by on the main straight in a similar move to his 2021 Spanish GP victory. From there, Hamilton eased to his 55th win in F1 in a race where he laid down a marker in his first big championship battle with Vettel.
8) Bahrain GP, 2021
The 2021 F1 season-opener set the tone for what was to come throughout the year. Verstappen and Hamilton lined up on the front row of the grid and went toe to toe over 56 laps at the Bahrain International Circuit. Both drivers were right on the edge, with Hamilton making the most of the FIA's grey area surrounding track limits by going wide at Turn 4 in the first half of the race. Hamilton undercut Verstappen to take the lead, though the Dutchman closed in on fresher tyres during the final part of the race. Somehow, Hamilton managed to maintain a strong enough pace, which forced Verstappen to use his tyres in order to catch him. Verstappen went for it at Turn 4 with three laps to go, but ran wide, overtaking Hamilton off the track and thus forcing him to concede the lead. Hamilton just held on to take the chequered flag by seven-tenths of a second in a thrilling race.
7) United States GP, 2012
Hamilton and Vettel were in a league of their own throughout the 2012 US GP in Austin, adapting best to the new track and the smooth surface. The pair started together on the front row and went to battle for most of the race with Vettel leading the way. However, Hamilton took advantage of a backmarker to close the gap, and later snatched the lead with 14 laps remaining after a decisive overtake. Fernando Alonso is often highly credited for his performance in 2012, but Hamilton was just as impressive and only failed to mount a serious title challenge due to unreliability and misfortune.
6) German GP, 2008
Hamilton was in dominant form at Hockenheim in 2008. He took pole position and built a lead of 12 seconds at the halfway mark of the race. However, a strategy error from McLaren when a Safety Car came out saw Hamilton lose his lead with one more pit-stop to make, whilst Nelson Piquet Jr and Felipe Massa didn't have to stop again. When Hamilton made his final stop, he emerged in fifth place with 17 laps to go. He was on a big charge and caught Massa, overtaking him with a bold move down the inside at Turn 6, and repeated a similar manoeuvre on race-leader Piquet with seven laps to go.
5) Canadian GP, 2007
June 10, 2007 is a date that many Hamilton fans and followers will remember. In just his sixth F1 race, Hamilton won his maiden Grand Prix with a very mature drive. The previous day, he had taken his first pole position and crucially came out on top against McLaren teammate Alonso at the start of the race. Despite four Safety Cars, Hamilton held his nerve by nailing the restarts and didn't put a foot wrong in Montreal on his way to the first of many victories in F1.
4) German GP, 2011
A three-way fight between Hamilton, Alonso, and Mark Webber at the Nurburgring in 2011 is a race which goes under the radar, but is definitely worthy of being called a classic. At the first round of pit-stops, Webber undercut Hamilton to take the lead, with Alonso following in third place. The trio of drivers stayed within a handful of seconds each other throughout the race in what was a fierce scrap, with three different teams battling it out for the win. During the second pit-stop phase, Webber pitted first so that Alonso or Hamilton wouldn't undercut him. However, it didn't work as slow tyre warm-up meant Hamilton emerged ahead after he pitted. Alonso pitted last and jumped the pair of them to take the lead. It didn't last long though, as Hamilton pounced immediately and went around the outside of the double World Champion at Turn 2. From there, Hamilton held on to take another great win in Germany.
3) Bahrain GP, 2014
The 'Duel in the Desert' saw one of the greatest teammate battles in F1 history. Hamilton was leading the 2014 Bahrain GP from Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, but was unable to scamper away. Rosberg decided to attack Hamilton just before the first round of pit-stops on two occasions. The German couldn't make either move stick, as Hamilton defended vigorously. The pair battled through Turn 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, with Hamilton either fending off Rosberg or immediately repassing him. Hamilton eventually built up a lead after the first pit-stops, with Rosberg on a harder tyre. However, his lead was wiped away after the Safety Car came out following a collision between Pastor Maldonado and Esteban Gutierrez; an incident that saw Gutierrez flip upside down. With Rosberg on the Soft tyre and Hamilton on the Medium, an attack from Rosberg was inevitable. Rosberg applied pressure, but Hamilton defended brilliantly each time to retain the lead. It was a racecraft masterclass from Hamilton, and one of his greatest wins during his time at Mercedes.
2) Turkish GP, 2020
During the first half of the 2020 Turkish GP, it looked like Hamilton had no chance of victory as he lingered in sixth position with very little pace. His Intermediate tyres were wearing out on the wet Istanbul circuit and he was stuck behind a train of cars. Whilst everyone else pitted for a new set of Intermediates, Hamilton carried on and made an important overtake on Sergio Perez. While the thinking was that Hamilton would have to pit again, he somehow carried on as the track dried out, turning his Intermediates into a semi-dry tyre. Although there was hardly any rubber left on his tyres, Hamilton maintained enough temperature to keep a strong pace and win by 31 seconds, in a race that defined his incredible tyre management skills. The memorable drive also saw him clinch his seventh World Championship.
1) British GP, 2008
Number one on our list of Hamilton victories has to be the 2008 British GP. Saturday hadn't gone well for Hamilton, as he overdrove his McLaren and started P4, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen on pole position. Hamilton leapt off the line in the wet conditions to overtake Webber and Kimi Raikkonen, challenging Kovalainen into Turn 1. He played it safe and bided his time to take the lead on Lap 5 while going into Stowe corner. In a similar fashion to his impressive wet-weather victory at Fuji in 2007, Hamilton put on a masterclass. Whilst the majority of the field struggled and had spins, Hamilton was lapping seconds quicker and was completely in the zone. He made it look easy despite the torrential rain and stamped his authority at Silverstone, to the delight of the British crowd. It must not be underestimated how difficult it is to drive an F1 car in the rain, and Hamilton has proved over the last 14 years that he has arguably been the benchmark in the sport when the track gets wet. His winning margin was the biggest of his career so far, finishing a full 68 seconds clear of Nick Heidfeld. One hundred wins is simply a staggering number and something that many people thought could never happen, but Hamilton has managed to get there with some iconic victories along the way.
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