In some respects, it’s easier to distinguish yourself in a sport like Formula 1 than anywhere else. In the entire history of the Formula 1 World Championships, spanning 72 seasons and 1,079 races, only 34 drivers have won that coveted title. Fourteen of those titles have been shared between just two legends—Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. At the end of the COVID stricken 2020 season, Hamilton won the championship by a country mile at the Turkish Grand Prix, equaling Schumacher’s record of 7 titles, the most won by any driver ever.

Now, after a gut-wrenching defeat in 2021 and a squalid 2022 season, the 7x Champion is ready to be strapped into Mercedes’ W14 to go on and do the impossible. In 2023, Hamilton will be expecting capable machinery to be able to fight for that elusive 8th world title and snatch the crown from the reigning champion, Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton statistically edges past Michael Schumacher

That being said, the man who is really the target for the Brit is the 7x Weltmeister, Michael Schumacher. Hamilton sits on the precipice of doing so, and he has the extra motivation to finally become the undisputed GOAT of Formula 1.

According to Formulapassion.it, “What will start in Bahrain on March 5th will be the 11th season of coexistence between the British champion and the Brackley team, who began their adventure together way back in 2013.”

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“Only (one other) combination in the history of Formula 1 has lasted (this long) and is the one composed by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, (who) joined in 1996 and remained together for a full decade, until the first withdrawal of the German Kaiser.” [translated via Google Translate]

But that’s not it. Hamilton does hold a slight edge over the German in one aspect. “The German won 40% of the races at the wheel of the Ferrari: 72 out of 180. Hamilton is currently at a slightly higher rate: 41%, with 82 wins in 200 GPs.”

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Lewis Hamilton has already set his sight on the 2023 title. That being said, what would this 8th title really mean to the boy from Stevenage?

Beating Michael Schumacher is the last thing on Lewis Hamilton’s mind

If Hamilton can win just one more F1 title, he’d have surpassed the benchmark set by Schumacher. However, how much is the prospect of dethroning arguably the greatest F1 driver playing in the mind of the 7x Champ?

In an interview with Formula 1 in 2022, Hamilton said, “For me, it’s just winning another World Championship. [With] every one, I’ve approached it as my first, and the feeling of winning the World Championship is so unique and special in its own way.

“Of course, the idea that no driver in history has ever gone past seven, you want to try and accomplish that. But I guess – as you get older – you realize the journey is the most important part and the ride that you do with all the people, and all the people that you bring with you, and all the people that you try to elevate.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Lewis Hamilton: Ranking His F1 World Titles From 2008 to 2020

Can Lewis Hamilton do the unthinkable and win that elusive 8th title in 2023?