17 times Formula 1 drivers have won at least nine races in one season. 16 of them became world champions. The only one who failed is Lewis Hamilton (36).
Max Verstappen claimed his ninth win of 2021 when he was on top in Mexico last weekend.
By comparison, Lewis Hamilton has “only” climbed to the top of the podium five times – but can also have as many as nine if he wins the remaining nine races.
Nigel Mansell in 1992 was the first to win at least nine races in a season, followed by Michael Schumacher in 1995. Since 2013, it’s happened every season – which says something about how dominant the Mercedes team is.
In 2016, Nico Rosberg won nine times and became world champion by five points over Hamilton, who in turn won 10 races – but had to take the silver. He is the only one to have had at least nine singles victories and not become the world champion.
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Here are the numbers (at least nine singles wins):
Nigel Mansell: 1992 – world champion.
Michael Schumacher: 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 – world champion in everything.
Sebastian Vettel: 2011 and 2013 – two-time world champion.
Lewis Hamilton: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 – world champion in all years except 2016.
Nico Rosberg: 2016 – World Champion.
Max Verstappen: 2021 – Currently driving the restroom.
There is now a 19 point difference between Verstappen and Hamilton in the summary. With four races remaining, Hamilton still has good chances of catching up with the Dutchman.
Two-time world champion (1998 and 1999) Mika Hakkinen thinks it’s too early to write off Hamilton despite Verstappen’s win in Mexico:
During this win, Max made a solid lead in the World Cup when there were only four races left. But in my opinion, a lot can still happen in the match between Red Bull and Mercedes, the Finn writes in his column for the gaming company. Unibet.
– I’m sure there will be new surprises in the next four races. You have to stay focused, keep working hard and not take anything for granted. Mika Heikkinen continues that the contestant only waits for the opportunity when you are relaxed.
He thinks the psychological game will be important this season and therefore won’t write off Lewis Hamilton:
He loves a challenge – that’s Max for Lewis.
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