PORTIMAO, Portugal – Lewis Hamilton rewrote the FIA Formula One World Championship history books Sunday with his record-breaking 92nd victory during the Heineken Portuguese Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who started the 66-lap race from the pole, put together a flawless drive to secure the trophy and surpass Michael Schumacher as the winningest F-1 driver in history.
The Briton lost out on the start, dropping back as far as third by the second lap after some early chaos, but regrouped during a long first stint and eventually chased down his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton erased a two-second deficit after grabbing the runner-up spot from Carlos Sainz on lap seven, eventually using DRS on the run down to turn one to pass Bottas on the 20th lap of the grand prix.
From there, Hamilton led all but one lap – when he pitted for his lone round of service on lap 41 – en route to the record-breaking score. His 92 career wins have come in 263 F-1 starts.
After taking the checkered flag 25.592 seconds clear of Bottas, Hamilton was nearly speechless in parc ferme as he attempted to process his momentous accomplishment.
“I never … I could have only ever dreamed of being where I am today,” he said. “I didn’t have a magic when I chose to come to this team and partner with these great people … but here I am and what I can tell you is that we’re trying to make the most of it every single day.
“We’re all going in the same direction and that’s why, I think, you’re seeing the success you’re seeing,” he added. “It’s going to take some time to sink in. … I can’t find the words.”
Though the race may have appeared easy for the six-time F-1 champion, Hamilton admitted it wasn’t nearly that simple, especially as he battled a leg cramp in the closing laps of the race.
“Today was tough. It was all about temperatures today,” Hamilton noted. “They said it was going to rain straight after the race, but we went into turn seven on the start and I had a huge oversteer moment. I didn’t know what was next, so I backed off massively. I probably should have tried to defend from Valtteri, but I figured I’d be able to come back later on, and fortunately that’s what I was able to do.
“It’s such a privilege to work with this team and I’m so grateful for all the moments we’ve shared,” Hamilton added. “No one is sitting back on the success, though. Everyone is pushing, pushing, pushing, and that’s the most incredible thing to be surrounded by. It inspires you, that collaboration. There’s nothing quite like it.”
Bottas led 16 laps during the day Sunday in Portugal, but admitted afterward he “just didn’t have the pace” to take any sort of fight to his teammate in the second half of the race.
“I was really pleased to take the lead at the start, but after that I didn’t really have the pace to stay with Lewis,” Bottas noted. “I was hoping to extend my first stint and switch to soft tires at the end, but I don’t think it would have made a difference.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the podium, nine seconds off of Bottas’ rear wing, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crossing fourth as the final driver on the lead lap.
Leclerc was a whopping 65.312 seconds adrift at the finish.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly put together a superb drive to come home fifth, followed by McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, who led laps two through five after driving past Bottas at turn five in an impressive move.
Racing Point’s Sergio Perez rallied from an opening-lap spin – caused by a collision with Verstappen – for seventh place, with the Renault pair of Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo and the sister Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel filling out the points-paying positions in the top 10.
The finish:
Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciargo, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, George Russell, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, Nicholas Latifi, Daniil Kvyat, Lance Stroll.