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Only seven-time champion Michael Schumacher has won more Formula 1 titles than Lewis Hamilton, but this amazing record seems vulnerable now that the Briton has earned his fifth place.
The 33-year-old Mercedes driver, sure of his place among the greats, competed with Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio with his fourth crown in five years at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton has 20 fewer wins on Schumacher's 91 wins. This record is also within reach, knowing that Hamilton has averaged 10 wins per season over the past four years.
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Like Schumacher, Hamilton won his fifth title at the age of 33.
Unlike the German, who kept his privacy and shared his time between track and home, the Brit did it while leading a hectic life that few athletes would consider.
The first Métis champion of this sport, whose paternal grandfather emigrated from the Caribbean to England around the time Fangio was dominant in the 1950s, still seems to be on the move.
This year, before taking the pole position with a sensational lap and winning the Singapore Grand Prix, he traveled 25,000 miles in 10 days and participated in fashion shows in New York and Shanghai.
The fact that there was no discernible impact on performance, aside from the positives, silenced the critics and impressed the competitors.
"I think it's been great to be able to do what he's been doing continuously on the track for almost ten years, but also to do what he wants, away from the track," he said. said Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull.
"For him to live the life that he lives and continues to follow such a performance, it comes back to him fully," added the Australian.
"I give Lewis all my respect, the talent has always been there, the speed has always been there, everyone knows it, but for him, maintain this level of intensity, speed and commitment. is strong enough. "
BRIGHTEST STAR
Hamilton was already the most successful driver in a country that has provided more champions than any other but he is now on a bigger stage as a global phenomenon.
His 81 pole positions are an all-time record, while his career-leading 132 podium places him at 155, unmatched.
The brightest and most salable star of the sport, even though it divides the opinion more than most people, Hamilton is already thinking of the future.
He launched a fashion collection with Tommy Hilfiger and helped make this brand a Mercedes team sponsor while pursuing various musical projects.
"I plant seeds in other regions to see how things are going to develop," he told ESPN. "I'm really trying to build an empire.
"I am primarily a racing driver, but I try to become an entrepreneur and succeed in business.I want to do it my way."
He also did it on the track, ignoring those who advised him to stay with McLaren, who is now struggling, rather than switching to Mercedes.
Matching the three titles of his childhood idol, the late Brazilian Ayrton Senna, has always been the goal. Continue counting Schumacher less.
For some, he is already in a different clbad from the man who dominated the sport with Ferrari and gave way to Mercedes in Hamilton in 2013.
"I would say that Lewis is superior to Michael by miles," Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 world champion and Schumacher's old enemy, told Reuters.
"There is very little negativity, you may or may not like the way he is in life but … there is nothing mean about his opponents, there is respect."
Tattoos that cover the body and bling – he particularly likes big gold necklaces and diamond earrings – can upset oil purists and are far from the time of Fangio.
But they have also helped Hamilton become the biggest badet of American sport in an attempt to win over a younger and younger audience.
Hamilton has come a long way, growing up in social housing and sleeping on his father's couch while breaking down barriers in a sport where he stood out more than by talent.
"We arrived on the track (karting) for the first time and we were not welcome.We were the only Blacks present.And it was very expensive, so my father had four jobs for us keep alive, "he recalls. .
"But the goal and my dream started when I was five and it was like Ayrton Senna and we never lost sight of it.
"Two years ago, I equaled it, which was an incredible moment for me, and since then I've been trying to somehow pbad the torch because that's the type that I've always wanted to be. "
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