F1: Lewis Hamilton – What another year with Mercedes means

Lewis Hamilton is a giant figure not just in the F1 sphere – as well as being the winningest driver on the current gird, he is joint with Michael Schumacher for having the most Championship titles and currently has the most race wins (95), most pole positions (98) and the most podiums (165) in the category’s illustrious history.

He burst on the scene with McLaren in 2007, taking the title to the final round and losing to Kimi Raikkonen by a single point. The next year, at only 23 years of age, he stole the title from Felipe Massa on the last corner of the last race in Brazil.

The moment lives on vividly, as Massa crossed the finish line and winning the grand Prix, whilst Lewis was only sixth place, needing fifth for the championship. As he exited Turn 12 on the last lap, Timo Glock, who was ahead, slowed on his degrading tyres and the superior McLaren flew past.

Ferrari were too busy celebrating to notice until Massa’s father noticed Hamilton crossing the line in fifth, winning the title by one point.

This turned out to be the only title Hamilton would pick up in the V10 era, with Vettel and Red Bull dominating the following years. It was not until the current hybrid era that we would see the full potential of the special, Stevenage born legend.

He moved to the newly developed Mercedes-AMG team in 2013, and won the 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 Drivers’ Championships and has surpassed Ayrton Senna, who Hamilton idolised, in wins, poles and podiums.

But in 2020, despite dominating once more on the track, off the track he has split opinions, receiving criticism and has having run-ins with the stewards.

This is partly why I ask the question: Did Mercedes choose the correct British driver?

Between Bahrain and now, after George Russell exceeded expectations in Hamilton’s car (due to Lewis positively testing for Covid), everyone has been watching closely to see who Mercedes confirm as their two drivers. Would Bottas lose out to Russell? Will Hamilton leave?

Throughout 2020, Lewis has pushed for Black Lives Matter, from wearing inspirational t-shirts during the pre-race ritual, to marching through London in protest to racism. He has done so much outside racing to assist in equality, and managed to have the ‘Black Lives Matter Kneel’ authorised in F1.

Lewis Hamilton, 36 this year, has started over 250 Grand Prix, and people started wondering whether 2020 would be his last year, due to him achieving what anyone could have wanted. To be the most successful driver.

As he gets older, there will be questions from the media about whether he can maintain his dominance and fitness long term and whether he should leave at the top instead of racing for another season, and potentially fall away.

As January came and went, driver announcements were being made ahead of the now delayed start of the season, most notably the return of the Schumacher name, and Sergio Perez getting a well-deserved seat for Red Bull. But all that was coming out of Mercedes was contract talks were ongoing between Hamilton and Wolff.

Fortunately, the panic is now over. Lewis has now signed a 1 year deal with Mercedes. I think this is a brilliant decision by Mercedes, because one thing is certain, Lewis is not past it yet. We will have to wait until the pre-season testing in Bahrain, and the first race to be sure, but Lewis has never missed a beat, and has always looked in top shape so this year shouldn’t be any different.

With Bottas taking the other seat, poor George will have to settle for Williams, and we assume the back of the field, for another season. We don’t know for sure, but its safe to guess either Lewis or Valtteri will make way for George in 2022, as both their contracts are up then. Also, the regulations are changing in 2022 too, so we could expect Lewis to step down after the end of the season if he wins the Championship for a record-breaking eighth tine.

I say this because Lewis will have achieved something that thought would be almost unreachable, and he has always said he wants to do things after F1, so 2021 would be good season to retire, as it would mean he has dominated the whole Hybrid-era.

The car launches will be taking place over the next three or four weeks, and the remaining drivers will be slotted in their cars for the first time on the 12th March, for their mere 3 days of pre season testing, which will take place in Bahrain, before the race weekend taking place two weeks later.

During this Covid-era the races have been behind closed doors, but with the vaccines rolling out around the world, there is a strong potential for partial crowds at most races, and hopefully Silverstone will be among them to cheer Lewis, Lando and George on to a successful season.