Three milestones up for grabs for Hamilton at home British GP this weekend
Monday 10 December 2018 12:03, UK
Lewis Hamilton is already the most successful British driver in Formula 1 history, but stands on the brink of further milestones at his home Silverstone race this weekend.
If Hamilton were to win Sunday's race, the Mercedes driver would set two new outright records for the British GP - and match one more overall F1 milestone achieved by his childhood hero Ayrton Senna some 25 years ago.
Hamilton's win at last year's British GP was his fifth at the event (2008, 2014-17), drawing him level with the all-time marks achieved by British great Jim Clark and France's Alain Prost.
A sixth would therefore put him out front on his own as the most successful driver in the prestigious race's 69-year history.
But that is not all.
The last four of Hamiton's Silverstone wins have come in succession since 2014 and a fifth in a row this year would make him the first driver to win the British GP that many seasons on the bounce. Clark is the only other driver to win four in consecutive years.
Indeed, the feat of winning any Grand Prix five times in a row is very rare - to the point where Senna is the only man to do so. The Brazilian great famously claimed five Monaco GPs in succession between 1989 and 1993 when driving for McLaren.
Meanwhile, Mercedes already hold the record for the most successive wins for a team with five having gone unbeaten at Silverstone since 2013. Nico Rosberg won in 2013, with Hamilton subsequently winning in every subsequent year.
However, in wake of a double retirement in Austria and losing the lead of both championship races, the world champions' grip on the podium's top step is likely to be challenged like never before.
"We come to Silverstone on the back of the worst weekend we've had in a very long time," said Toto Wolff, Mercedes' team principal.
"We are determined to put up a hard fight on home turf and come back with a strong result - one that is worthy of our drivers' performance, our fans' passion and the Mercedes brand."
