Lewis Hamilton Q&A: career record and future in Formula 1
BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson assesses Hamilton's standing and how long he can remain at the top.
Lewis Hamilton has completed 400 Formula 1 grands prix and holds the most race wins and pole positions. He is tied with Michael Schumacher on seven titles and is now 41 years old.
Key takeaways
- Hamilton has competed in 400 F1 grands prix.
- He holds the most race wins and pole positions in F1 history.
- He has seven championships, level with Michael Schumacher.
- He did not win a race in 2022, 2023 or 2025.
- He is 41 years old and performing well again in 2026 cars.
McLaren’s Lando Norris converted pole position into a race win at a wet-dry-wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday.
Max Verstappen came through the field to take second after starting at the back of the grid because of an engine penalty, while his Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar was on the podium in third.
Mercedes sealed the constructors’ championship for the first time since 2021 at Interlagos following a fourth-place finish for George Russell and fifth for new world champion Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton has just completed his 400th Formula 1 grand prix, with more than 100 of these races having him on pole position. He holds the most race wins and pole positions in the sport’s history.
He is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most championships with seven. Hamilton has won races in nearly all his seasons, with the only exceptions being 2022, 2023 and 2025. He struggled relatively in the era of ground-effect cars from 2022 to 2025.
He was beaten by Mercedes team-mate George Russell in two of their three seasons together, and looked a shadow of his usual self against Charles Leclerc in 2025.
Those performances led some to question why a driver formerly famed and lauded for his adaptability did not seem as able to adapt to the driving style required of those cars.
And that, in turn, led to questions as to whether the fact he apparently could not was related to his age, as he is now 41.
But with this year’s cars, Hamilton is back in much more familiar territory, is performing extremely well again and is neck-and-neck with Leclerc.
What happens next
The BBC Q&A does not state how much longer Hamilton can stay at the top or name his next fixture.
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