Lewis Hamilton Enters the League of Formidable Champions With Upcoming F1 Feat

Lewis Hamilton and milestones certainly go hand in hand. His longevity and consistency is undoubtedly a rare feat in Formula 1, as he is into his 16th year in the sport. And with the arrival of the French Grand Prix, he is set to reach another significant landmark in his illustrious career.

The Briton will join the 300 race club as the race in the Paul Ricard circuit marks his 300th Grand Prix entry. Only five drivers have achieved this feat, with four of them crowned world champion at least once.

Top of the list is the ‘The Iceman’, Kimi Raikkonen with 349 Grand Prix starts. He is also the last driver to win a title with Ferrari. Following him is Fernando Alonso (344 starts), the man who has spent over two decades in Formula 1. He will also soon surpass Raikkonen as the most experienced driver in F1.

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The list then moves to the only driver who has not won a championship, Rubens Barrichello, the 11-time Grand Prix winner.

Of course, Michael Schumacher is the next with 306 starts and is followed by Jenson Button, who also has the same number of starts. So, Hamilton now becomes the 6th driver to achieve this. A victory in France would be a sweet feeling for the seven-time world champion.

Lewis Hamilton is confident of securing a victory in 2022

The new era of F1 has not been kind to Hamilton. Mercedes endured a torrid start and struggled to match their front runners in the early part of the season. Moreover, Hamilton has not won a race and finished on the podium only four times so far.

However, with upgrades in Spain, they have bounced back admirably. The Billion dollar man is currently on a fiery streak with 3 consecutive podiums and was arguably the fastest driver in Silverstone.

He said, “It was a good step in Barcelona [when Mercedes introduced their first car upgrade] and then we had several difficult races following it. We had this last race, or the last two races, that were quite strong.”

“That really is encouraging us that there is potential in the car and with a little bit more digging and a little bit more hard work, we can get closer to winning a race. So I truly believe that we can get a race win this year.”

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They can take encouragement from recent results, but they are still some way off the top two teams. However, the Paul Ricard circuit arguably suits Mercedes and Hamilton will hope to achieve his first victory of the season during his 300th Grand Prix start.