Hamilton - Top driver

The 2020 F1 season starts in Melbourne in mid-March and Lewis Hamilton is favourite to win his seventh driver’s championship.

There’ll be 22 races this year, including a new Grand Prix in Vietnam and a return to the Zandvoort circuit in Holland.

A full schedule will appear in the CBN before the first race, meanwhile let’s check out Hamilton’s career.

Born on 7 January 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, he’s the second most successful F1 driver of all-time with six titles under his belt, one behind Michael Schumacher.

He clinched his fifth title in six years last November, the sequence being interrupted by Nico Rosberg in 2016. And he and Sebastian Vettel (4) are the only current drivers who’ve won more than one title.

Hamilton has won 84 F1 races (63 with Mercedes) from 250 starts; only Schumacher with 91 from 306 has achieved more.

Hamilton also has a marginally better win percentage than Schumacher and his race victories have come at a much better rate than the German’s, with an average of ten in each of the last six campaigns.

He’s also won one in every three races he’s driven in (33.5%).

Only two other men who’ve driven in 50+ GPs have a better win-rate record than Hamilton - Juan Manuel Fangio and Jim Clark.

Alain Prost had 51 wins from 199 starts while Ayrton Senna claimed 41 from 161 before he sadly lost his life at Imola in 1994.

Hamilton is way ahead in terms of pole positions with 88; Schumacher is second on 68 but his tally of 47 fastest laps is well short of Schumacher’s record of 77. And Hamilton is also level with Senna in F1 races won (19) when leading from the first to last lap.

Hamilton has completed a 'hat-trick' GP wins on 14 occasions. Schumacher leads with 22 and Hamilton lies joint-second with the German on five 'Grand-slams'… this comprises starting on pole position, winning the race after leading on every lap and recording the fastest lap time. Jim Clark holds the record with eight ‘Grand slams’.

British drivers have won 19 F1 world titles overall with Hamilton (6), Jackie Stewart (3), Jim Clark (2) and Graham Hill (2) leading the way.

And Hamilton, MBE, the greatest British driver ever, hasn’t finished yet!