How soon can Hamilton equal and surpass Schumacher's 91 wins? Mercedes driver headed into summer break with win 81
Friday 23 August 2019 16:43, UK
Lewis Hamilton is now just 10 race wins away from matching Michael Schumacher's all-time Formula 1 record of 91 Grand Prix victories.
Schumacher's milestone, set in 2006, had long been considered untouchable but Hamilton's is currently closing on one of F1's two most prestigious records at a rate of knots.
The five-time world champion has won eight races already this season and 14 of the last 21.
Most F1 race wins
1. Michael Schumacher - 91
2. Lewis Hamilton - 81
3. Sebastian Vettel - 52
4. Alain Prost - 51
5. Ayrton Senna - 41
Ten wins adrift of Schumacher, Hamilton can not now equal the record this year - although could end the season on the brink of the milestone with nine rounds to go after the summer break.
Hamilton has already surpassed Schumacher over recent seasons for the most pole positions (87 to 68) and front-row starts (141 to 116), while he is just 12 podium finishes away from taking another record from the former Ferrari driver.
A sixth world title this year would also place him just one behind Schumacher's famous seven.
Hamilton's current Mercedes contract runs to the end of 2020, although he has indicated he could well continue in F1 beyond that and into his late 30s.
Is Hamilton appreciated enough?
Despite his already-glittering success in motorsport, debate continues as to whether Hamilton is given sufficient recognition for his achievements.
Toto Wolff, the Englishman's boss at Mercedes, has warned that critics of the five-time champion are missing out on an unique opportunity.
"I think in the United Kingdom, in Britain, Lewis is not recognised how he should be recognised," Wolff said at the French GP.
"One day he's going to stop his career with multiple records and people will say he was the greatest driver on the planet and we were witnesses of that journey - and wasn't he an interesting personality with all the things he did.
"But for whatever reason there is this idea of hitting out which maybe provides the better headline.
"I don't think [we] recognise the opportunity that we are part of, to see maybe the best driver that has ever existed on an exceptional journey."
