Lewis Hamilton's Best Mercedes Moments

Lewis Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013 and there’s no doubt that he has achieved some unbelievable things with the Silver Arrows. From epic on track battles to race wins all over the world, the man from Stevenage has truly done it all in Formula One.

• First race win for Mercedes at the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix 

Hamilton made his driver’s debut with Mercedes in 2013, after he signed for the team a year before to replace retired German great Michael Schumacher. With nine races under his belt, Hamilton came into the Hungarian Grand Prix with eight top 10 race finishes, including three podiums (all third-place finishes in Malaysia, China and Canada) seeking his first race win with his new team.

The race weekend could not get any better for the Briton in his Mercedes car, as he secured pole position on the front row ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the current championship leader. Hamilton started with a qualifying time of 1:19.388.

Hamilton was in full control of the race in Hungary as he held off challenges from Vettel, his Red Bull Australian teammate Mark Webber as well as the Lotus pair Kimi Raikkonen and Roman Grosjean. 

Hamilton was rarely challenged on track as he was so far ahead but during the closing moments of the Hungarian race he had a strategic battle with Red Bull’s Webber, particularly with tyre changes in the pit lane.

The Englishman’s first Mercedes would later lead to an incredible achievement of 100 race wins in F1.

•  Wins first F1 Drivers’ Championship with Mercedes in 2014

Hamilton announced himself as Mercedes’ main man in 2014 with just one word to describe his winning season, flawless.

One of the biggest highlights from his 2014 season was during the Bahrain Grand Prix and his tight battle with German teammate Nico Rosberg. Both going wheel-to-wheel for the lead throughout the race. Laps 18 and 19 in particular were special as Hamilton swooped in on Rosberg to take the lead after the overtake, and neither driver wanted to concede the lead of the race.

Lap 19 saw Rosberg in the lead for a brief moment before Hamilton got into the German’s slipstream to time his overtake and regained the lead of the race. The Mercedes duo were so far ahead that the gap between race winner Hamilton and third-place finisher Sergio Perez of Force India Mercedes was 24 seconds. 

It was Hamilton’s second race win in a row after his victory in Malaysia, he failed to finish the opening race in Australia. Further victories followed for the Briton in China and Spain, before a third place result in Monaco.

Hamilton’s fifth race victory of the season came at the British Grand Prix but not without challenges. With 36 points across his last three races, including a DNF in Canada,  Hamilton’s provisional pole in a rain hit qualifying was outdone by Rosberg and as a result the British driver dropped down to sixth position.

With the opening lap underway, Hamilton gained two places to fourth position after benefitting from a restart following a crash from Ferrari’s Raikkonen. Now he had Rosberg, the race leader in the other Mercedes, in his sights.

Fortune went Hamilton’s way, despite making up the ground to catch up to his teammate, when Rosberg retired from the Silverstone race due to a gearbox issue. Hamilton went on to take control of the race - and resume his title challenge - at his home Grand Prix, sealing the win.

Collected a ridiculous 125 points across a five-race winning streak at the Italian, Singapore, Japanese, Russian and United States Grand Prix, to increase his lead at the top. Hamilton clinched his first drivers title with Mercedes after he won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the season finale, after he won 11 out of 19 races.

Hamilton became a two-time world champion with his second title, his first drivers championship since 2008 when he won with McLaren.

• Wins his fourth British Grand Prix in 2016

When the British Grand Prix arrives every year one common theme sets the outcome of the races - rainy weather - and 2016 was no different for Hamilton. The Brit started on pole in the heavy rain alongside teammate Rosberg in second place as their close team rivalry - the pair collided together earlier in Barcelona - continued.

Hamilton controlled the race despite starting with the Safety Car due to the chaos on track as result of the rain. The Briton turned the tide in his favour during the wet-dry race.

Throughout the race some drivers struggled to get their cars under control due to the rain like Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who ended up in the gravel.

Hamilton had his own moment at Turn One as he went deep into the run-off area but managed to stay away from the gravel as the rain was causing problems. However, as the race went on, the track began to dry up and the British driver continued to show why he was the master of British weather to take the win at Silverstone.

It was his fourth victory at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix. He became the fourth driver to achieve this after Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and the late Jim Clark.

• Stunning Qualifying pole lap in Singapore 2018

In 2018 on the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes’ Hamilton produced one of the most extraordinary lap times during the final stage of qualifying in the battle for pole position at Marina Bay.

Ferrari’s Raikkonen was on provisional pole at Marina Bay with a 1:37.403 and Hamilton was yet to put a time on the board. However, during that process of his flying lap he was quickest in purple sectors one and two, he went fastest again in the final sector to secure pole, producing one of the best qualifying laps ever in F1.

Hamilton’s lap time of 1:36.015, for Mercedes, was so impressive that it was 0.319 seconds quicker than the next highest qualifier in Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. In addition to his stunning achievement, the Englishman took pole position for a record equalling fourth time at the Marina Bay track. Former German driver Vettel (both with Red Bull and Ferrari) also achieved four pole positions (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017) in Singapore.

He converted his pole into a race win at Marina Bay and eventually won his fifth World Drivers’ championship in the season finale in Abu Dhabi that year. Claiming his fifth Drivers’ title, Hamilton equalled the same number of championships as the late Argentine F1 driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

• Breezing through the 2018 German Grand Prix from 14th to victory

Hamilton started the German Grand Prix down in 14th position after a very poor qualifying where he suffered a hydraulics issue with his car. The Mercedes driver had an uphill task of getting through the pack on the opening lap and gained a place into 13th after passing Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin.

The Mercedes driver showed his race craft and skills as he gained 10 places by lap 29, sitting in fourth place with the Ferraris in his sights including race leader Vettel. His brilliant driving continued when he passed his Mercedes teammate Bottas on lap 33 shortly after.

In the brief moment of rain on track, and drivers scrabbling for change of tyres in the pit lane, Hamilton opted to stay out on track for Mercedes. His championship rival and race leader Vettel was in his sights.

Hamilton’s opportunity for the lead came on lap 52 when Ferrari’s Vettel, who had led the race from the start, crashed out into the barriers, which led to a virtual safety car. 

Despite the unexpected turn of events and confusion in the Mercedes pit garage, Hamilton stayed out on track and was leading the race for the first time. 

The Englishman went on to win in Hockenheim and got his championship title bid on track. Hamilton showed why he is one of the best drivers ever in F1, coming back from an unlikely 14th position to take victory in such style.

• Tribute to Nicki Lauda at Monaco 2019

In 2019, F1 lost one of the sporting greats in Niki Lauda, who died in May. The Austrian was a three-time F1 champion and served as an advisor to Mercedes in 2012.

Hamilton, in his Mercedes car, paid tribute to Lauda with a small message on the halo of his car. As for the Grand Prix itself, the British driver took pole position on the famous Monte-Carlo street circuit.

As for the race, it was a straightforward controlled performance from the Briton in Monaco, despite the slight problem with his tyres. He claimed his third win at the Monaco street circuit adding to his 2008 - with McLaren - and 2016 victories. 

Paying tribute to Lauda, Mercedes painted their halos red and added a three-pointed star on the engine cover of their cars for the remainder of the season.

With the race victory secured, Hamilton extended his lead at the Drivers Championship standing to 17 points. He would eventually become a six-time Drivers Champion, winning his fifth title with the Silver Arrows.

• Finishes the race on three tyres at the 2020 British Grand Prix

Hamilton led for most of the race at Silverstone even up until the final lap where he suffered a puncture to his front left tyre. Going through Maggots & Becketts his left tyre was getting worse with more damage on track.

The Englishman, who has the most record wins at the British Grand Prix, held onto the race lead with Red Bull’s Verstappen not too far behind him with a current gap of 26 seconds between the two drivers.

With the time gap dropping between the top two, it was only a matter of time before Hamilton could get his Mercedes to the chequered flag, as his tyre was very much non-existent.

An extraordinary performance in one of the most unexpected scenes to an F1 race, Hamilton won the British Grand Prix on three tyres. His victory at Silverstone at the time took his record win at home to seven in total. 

He extended his British Grand Prix wins record in the 2021 and 2024 editions. Hamilton’s 2024 win saw him become a nine-time winner, more than any other driver in the sport.  

• Hamilton equals Michael Schumacher's record of seven World Titles with 2020 Turkish GP victory.

The 2020 F1 season was all about Hamilton cementing him in the F1 history books and taking his place amongst the greats of the sport. Mercedes’ Hamilton already equalled - 2020 Eifel Grand Prix - and surpassed Schumacher’s record for most numbers of wins in F1 taking victories in Portugal and Emilia Romagna. Becoming a seven-time world champion at the Turkish Grand Prix was the icing on the cake for the British driver.

After claiming 11 podiums across the season including nine race victories, Hamilton had the chance to claim world champion status in Turkey. In rain-hit qualifying at Istanbul Park, championship leader Hamilton qualified in sixth position, crucially ahead of Mercedes teammate and nearest title challenger Bottas, who could only manage ninth place on the starting grid.

Hamilton started well during the opening lap of the race, gaining two positions up the field but the Red Bull pairing of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon soon took the chance to pass him.

The Mercedes man put himself in a good position to win his seventh championship due to Bottas’ struggles on the wet track as he spun three times over the course of the race.

His chance for the race lead arrived when he overtook Racing Point’s Sergio Perez at Turn 12 with the help of the drag reduction system (DRS) on lap 37. The Englishman had one thing on his mind, taking the chequered flag and a stunning seventh world championship.

Hamilton, as he crossed the finish line in Istanbul, equalled the world championship record and took victory in the Turkish Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver stamped his name in the F1 record books as one of or if not the greatest of all-time drivers in the sport.

He equalled the record for most Championship wins with seven, the same with former German F1 driver Schumacher.

• From Last to First Brilliance in Brazil 2021

Hamilton and the Interlagos circuit always seem to come hand-in-hand especially when he performs and wins. The 2021 Brazil weekend came along and it was not without challenges for the Mercedes driver.

The Englishman had qualifying done, taking pole position for the Sprint Race later on Saturday. However, following an investigation regarding his rear wing opening on track, Hamilton was disqualified from the session altogether.

After meeting with the stewards and despite his disqualification from Qualifying, Hamilton was granted to compete in the Sprint Race and started last in 20th position.

The Mercedes driver, with challenges faced during the sprint race, made up a stunning 15 places across 24 laps and finished in an impressive fifth in the Sprint ahead of McLaren Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Aston Martin’s Vettel.

Hamilton’s real test was the main Grand Prix race but a five-place grid penalty for a new power unit meant he started in 10th position.

Laps 18 and 19 saw Hamilton, currently in third, battle with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. The Mercedes driver overtook him on the outside for second place, only for the Mexican to claim the place back with the help of DRS. However, Hamilton got the better of Perez as he overtook him once again to take second.

Hamilton, sitting in second place, chased down the race leader Verstappen in the other Red Bull car. On lap 41 he tried to overtake the Dutchman but was closed off.

The 36-year-old Mercedes driver had another opportunity to go for the race lead on lap 48 but was forced off track by Verstappen, into the run-off area.

On lap 59, Hamilton finally got his chance for the race lead at Turn 4 as he passed Verstappen, leaving him in his rear mirrors and eventually sealing the win at Interlagos.

The Mercedes driver extended his record breaking win with his 101st in Formula 1, and doing so he became a three-time winner in Brazil.

• Becomes the first driver ever to reach 100 Pole Positions and 100 Wins in F1

Hamilton’s F1 career has seen him compete for both McLaren and Mercedes teams since he debuted in 2007 at the Australian Grand Prix where he finished on a podium in third place. 

So far in his career he has competed in 350 Grand Prix to date - most recently 2024 Singapore Grand Prix - and collected 4,318.5 points. In addition to that he has 67 fastest laps and a stunning 201 podium finishes, which is the most in F1 history.

In 2020, Hamilton became a seven-time F1 World Champion after he won the Turkish Grand Prix. It was a record-equalling championship win, sharing the same accolade with former German F1 driver Schumacher. 

The Englishman made history as he became the first ever driver to reach 100 pole positions in F1. Hamilton achieved this during the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix where he set a pole lap time of 1:16.741 and later converted his pole to win taking the flag in Barcelona.

The Mercedes driver also holds the most pole positions at a single circuit in F1, with nine at the Hungaroring in 2023. 

As of this moment Hamilton holds the record for most F1 wins standing at a huge 105. He achieved his 100th win at the Russian Grand Prix in 2021, following a mistake from McLaren’s Lando Norris. His 100th win in F1 has ultimately crowned him as an all-time great.