Sir Lewis Hamilton has been the most successful driver in the F1 Motorsport. Moreover, he is the only driver to win more than 100 Grand Prix in F1. In terms of podium finishes, pole positions, and GP wins, nobody comes closer to the great Briton. But on top of everything, the Mercedes superstar has been the only other driver than Michael Schumacher to win the Driver’s championship seven times. But in his 15-year-long career, the British driver had plenty of moments when he could have won more titles. Who can forget the epic 2021 finale in Abu Dhabi? In recent times, that is the most popular F1 season ever.
The 2021 season marked the turning point for a shift in power. Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have been dominating the grid since 2014. Coming to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mercedes already claimed their eighth title in a row. But the results of the Driver’s championship came down to the results of the Abu Dhabi GP. Long story short, in the end, the fans saw a dramatic ending where Max Verstappen broke Hamilton’s streak by a narrow margin. But Lewis Hamilton has seen three more close finishes when he should have won the title.
Which Were The Other Seasons When Lewis Hamilton Missed Out On A Title Win Besides 2021?
The rookie season back in 2007 saw the emergence of the great Lewis Hamilton. He had the best rookie season in the history of the sport. He came so close to win his maiden title in 2007. But McLaren did not support him as much as they should have. The internal McLaren rivalry between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso was gaining a lot of media attention. However, heading toward the Chinese Grand Prix in 2007, Lewis Hamilton was far ahead of Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen with 107 points. Back in those days drivers scored 10 points with a win. Hence, it should have been a walk in the park for Hamilton to win the title.
But McLaren let Lewis Hamilton out on worn intermediates. As a result, he had to skate into a gravel trap to finally pit. And eventually, Kimi won. But after the race in China, Hamilton was still in the lead. However, things didn’t support Hamilton in the 2007 Brazilian GP, as there was high tire degradation. In the end, Lewis Hamilton could not manage a fifth place that he needed to win the title in his rookie season. Eventually, Kimi won the 2007 season with a one-point margin. Since then, Hamilton claimed that a lot of things happened behind the scenes politically that he can’t speak of. More bad luck hit Hamilton in the years, 2010 and 2016.
What Went Wrong For The Seven-Time Champion In 2010 And 2016?
Lewis Hamilton suffered because of a fatal DNF in the 2010 Spanish Grand Prix. A tire rim failure cost Hamilton 18 points in the 2010 Spanish GP. In the end, Sebastian Vettel won the 2010 title as he was only 16 points ahead of Hamilton. But the 2016 season saw a fierce Mercedes rivalry where Nico Rosberg emerged victorious.
Lewis Hamilton missed out on a number of opportunities where he started from pole position in 2016. Like in Spain, Bahrain, Italy and Australia, Hamilton could not capitalize on the pole position. In Spain, he had an infamous crash out with his teammate Nico Rosberg. However, many fans and experts blamed the engine failure in the Malaysian Grand Prix. But it was not the main reason.
