Lewis Hamilton breaks two more F1 records and hones in on Schumacher win tally

Tuscan Grand Prix

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Hamilton breaks two more F1 records and hones in on Schumacher win tally

Mercedes also set another new mark at the Tuscan Grand Prix

Nicolas Quarles van Ufford

Monday 14 September 2020 14:29

"Three races in one day" was Lewis Hamilton's description of an eventful Tuscan Grand Prix in which he broke two more Formula 1 records and moved to within one of a feat nobody previously believed would be beaten.

Despite the chaotic nature of Sunday's race in Mugello, Hamilton had a relatively straightforward afternoon after dispatching team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the first restart on lap 10 to reclaim the lead from which he never looked back.

On the afternoon Alex Albon clinched his long-awaited maiden F1 podium, let's stay with Mercedes and Hamilton as we dive into the key statistics from the inaugural race at Mugello.

Hamilton adds two more records to his account

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While Hamilton's 90th win is not a record, it now appears certain he will at some point this season break the all-time tally of 91 set by Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton, though, did overhaul another Schumacher mark as it was his 222nd career points finish, surpassing the seven-time champion's F1 total of 221.

The 35-year-old also logged his 42nd consecutive classified result in Formula 1, breaking Nick Heidfeld's record. The German had 41 straight finishes for BMW Sauber between 2007 and 2009.

Hamilton's Mercedes team also broke a record after the very first lap of Sunday's race as it was the 32nd consecutive race the Silver Arrows had led at least one lap in a grand prix. The honour was previously held by Williams, who set their achievement between 1995 and 1997.

Just another day at the office for the historically dominant Mercedes and Hamilton, then.

Alex Albon's long-awaited podium

Behind the two Mercedes, Albon took his maiden podium in F1 for Red Bull Racing, becoming the 213th different driver to finish in the top three in the sport's history.

Albon is also the first Thai driver to stand on the podium. The only other Thai points scorer, Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh, finished fourth twice at the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix and the 1954 French Grand Prix.

It was also the first time since Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco 2018 that a Red Bull driver, other than Max Verstappen, had clinched a podium, a drought of 46 races.

Three times three standing starts

Having three standing starts in the same race is a very rare feat in F1 history. The safety car restart on lap 10, which resulted in a four-car pile-up on the main straight at Mugello, caused the first red flag, before Lance Stroll's big crash on lap 43 led to a second red-flag period and an additional standing start.

Only twice before has this happened in F1. The first was the 1987 Austrian Grand Prix which featured two pile-ups at each of its starts, most notably the second which involved 12 cars.

The second was the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix. The first restart was caused by multiple shunts on the first lap, including a collision between Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. The second resulted in a major crash at Eau Rouge that scattered debris all over the track, causing another red flag and standing start.

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