Lewis Hamilton set to BREAK Michael Schumacher record with new Mercedes contract

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton set to BREAK Schumacher record with new Mercedes contract

The seven-time world champion has signed a new two-year deal

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 1 September 2023 07:57

Lewis Hamilton will break Michael Schumacher's record for consecutive seasons at the same Formula 1 team with his new contract extension.

The seven-time world champion has signed a deal until the end of the 2025 season to remain at Mercedes, alongside his team-mate George Russell.

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As well as attempting to go one better than Schumacher and claim an eighth world championship title, Hamilton will go two better than Schumacher's 11 consecutive seasons with Ferrari, by seeing out his contract.

We take a look at the drivers who have been most loyal to their teams in F1 history.

1. Lewis Hamilton - 11 seasons at Mercedes (2013- Present)

Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013, although only won one race in his first season

Yep, it's official. Hamilton will break Schumacher's record of 11 consecutive seasons at the same team having signed his new contract.

The most successful driver in F1 history is now the most loyal, and his contract should take him to 13 seasons at Mercedes, barring any massive hiccups.

Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 having been at McLaren from 2007-2012, winning 21 races and the 2008 world championship.

Since then, he has gone on to win 82 more races and six more world championships, with Mercedes proving to be the right horse to back when the new hybrid era came into play in 2014.

He now, of course, has the most pole positions, the most race wins and the joint-most world championships ever in the history of the sport.

2. Michael Schumacher- 11 seasons at Ferrari (1996-2006)

Michael Schumacher won five world championships with Ferrari

Schumacher drops down to second on this list, will he one day drop down to second on the list of most world championships?

He won five of his seven world championships with Ferrari, and 72 of his 91 race wins came with the Italian team too.

Having tried and failed to win his eighth world championship in 2005 and 2006 due to the resurgence of the Renault team with Fernando Alonso at the helm, Michael retired for the first time, only to see another Ferrari driver (Kimi Raikkonen) win the world championship in 2007, and Felipe Massa challenge for the title in 2008.

He then returned to the sport in 2010 with Mercedes, alongside Nico Rosberg, but only managed to get onto the podium once during his three seasons with the team.

When he retired for the second time in 2012, his luck once again turned against him as Mercedes became regular race winners in 2013, before being world champions in 2014.

3. David Coulthard- Nine seasons at McLaren (1996-2004)

Coulthard acheived 62 podiums across his career, but was slightly overshadowed at McLaren by team-mate Mika Hakkinen

Coulthard spent the most successful period of his career at McLaren, although he was ultimately overshadowed by his formidable team-mate.

12 of his 13 career race wins came with the McLaren team, and he managed to finish second in the 2001 world championship behind Schumacher.

During a great period for the McLaren team, Coulthard regularly found himself battling at the front with Schumacher and team-mate Mika Hakkinen, and he managed to win five grands prix across the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

However, it was Hakkinen that went on to claim two world championships for the team during this great period, in 1998 and 1999, but more on the flying Finn below.

Coulthard finished his career at Red Bull, racking up a total of 246 race starts and 62 podiums across his career.

4. Mika Hakkinen- Nine seasons at McLaren (1993-2001)

Hakkinen won two world championships with his McLaren team

Hakkinen is largely regarded as one of the fastest ever F1 drivers, and probably would have taken more world championship titles than the two he did, if it weren't for the incredibly consistent Schumacher.

Having spent his first two seasons in F1 with Lotus, Hakkinen moved to McLaren in 1993 as their official test driver, but was shoehorned into the team when Michael Andretti left the sport during the 1993 season.

Hakkinen then went on to spend eight more full seasons with the team, claiming 20 race wins and two consecutive world championships.

He retired at the age of just 33, leaving many to suggest that he could have gone on to win more races and challenge Schumacher during his period of supreme dominance from 2000-2004.

5. Jim Clark- Nine seasons at Lotus (1960-1968)

Jim Clark (driving) holds a special F1 record as he celebrates a win with trophy holding Colin Chapman

Clark still holds the record for being the only world champion to have driven for just one team.

Joining Lotus in 1960, Clark went on to claim 33 pole positions, 25 race wins and two world championships before his untimely death racing in a Formula Two race for Lotus at the Hockenheim.

During the 1968 season, there was a four month break between the first F1 race of the season (which Clark won) and the second, so drivers went off to race in other motorsport races.

Unfortunately, Clark never made the second race of the F1 season, but who knows how many races he might have won that season, and how many world championships he could have won in his career.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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