The five records that Lewis Hamilton can break in 2023
The new generation is increasingly taking over, as evidenced by Sebastian Vettel's retirement last year, even if the chapter has not yet been completely turned for Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. The latter can still further etch his name in the history of F1 with five records to break this year.
The 8th title to be at the top
The year 2023 could be a new chance (the last?) for the seven-time world champion, who shares the record with German Michael Schumacher. By winning an eighth title, he would become, on paper, the greatest driver in terms of the number of titles won. It is certainly this pursuit of the record that gives him the majority of his motivation to stay in F1 at 38 years old.
The question remains whether he will have the chance to have the car that will allow him to achieve it, unlike in 2022 where, for the first time in his career, he did not win any races in a season. The first clue will be revealed during the presentation of the W14 on February 15th.
The number of wins in the same Grand Prix.
Eight times the Red Baron won the French Grand Prix during his Formula 1 career. A statistic shared today with Lewis Hamilton, who also has eight victories at Silverstone and in Hungary. This season, he has two opportunities to become the sole holder of the record.
If he goes on to win the Canadian Grand Prix, the land of his first success, he will also claim for the third time eight victories in the same Grand Prix.
The most poles in the same Grand Prix.
This record is shared with the illustrious Schumacher and Senna. The German obtained eight pole positions at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, while Senna obtained the same number the day before his death at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.
Hamilton also holds two opportunities to break this record by securing a ninth pole position at the Australian Grand Prix. He can thus achieve a double success with the aforementioned previous record, by claiming pole position on Saturday and victory on Sunday on the same Hungaroring circuit.
First driver to win a Grand Prix beyond 300 race starts.
A few years ago, reaching the milestone of 300 Grand Prix races in a career was considered a feat of longevity. And even though today, it still echoes as a sign of a long career in F1, none of the six drivers who have reached this mark have managed to win a race.
By achieving this feat this year, Hamilton would be the first, and therefore the only one, to have accomplished it, unless Aston Martin driver, Fernando Alonso, the career Grand Prix record holder (356), manages to pull off a remarkable achievement.
The Grand Slam record
It may be the most difficult record to achieve, as completing a single Grand Slam is extremely challenging. It requires: securing pole position, setting the fastest lap in the race, leading all the laps, and winning in order to accomplish this.
Hamilton has managed to achieve six Grand Slams in addition to 300 starts. But in order to beat this statistic, he will need an exceptional W14 in his hands to hope to dethrone the three-time world champion Jim Clark and his eight Grand Slams in 72 starts, a record that is 57 years old.
