Lewis Hamilton wins 2019 F1 championship: Nine key moments for the Mercedes man

Lewis Hamilton

The key moments in Lewis Hamilton's 2019 title win

Matthew Scott

Monday 4 November 2019 15:00

Lewis Hamilton has secured his sixth world drivers' championship after finishing second at the United States Grand Prix.

With 10 wins from 19 grands prix, Hamilton remains one race triumph shy of his best tally in a single season, but 2019 has been one of his most dominant campaigns, the Brit having led the championship since the Spanish GP – the fifth round of the year.

It hasn't been all plain sailing, however, with plenty of ups and does along the way of another season of success.

Here are nine key turning points that helped Hamilton rewrite history once again.

Bahrain GP (Qual: 3rd – Race: 1st)

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Having had to settled for second behind Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in Australia, the Silver Arrows were no match for Ferrari in qualifying, with Charles Leclerc leading Sebastian Vettel on an all-red front row. Hamilton managed to keep the pressure on Vettel sufficiently to force the German into yet another spin in close combat, but another second place looked likely as Leclerc cruised in P1.

The Monegasque ran into engine trouble 11 laps from the end, however, and was a sitting duck as Hamilton eased past him to get off the mark for 2019 in fortuitous circumstances, with Bottas also following home in second and Leclerc left wondering what might have been on the third step of the podium.

Azerbaijan GP (Qual: 2nd – Race: 2nd)

Hamilton was no match for Bottas over the course of the weekend, following his polesitting stable-mate home in second place, but the street race in Baku remained notable in Hamilton's title charge.

Leclerc crashed out in qualifying, having looked like a dead cert for pole, and Vettel was tricked into running without a tow, starting third and failing to make an impression on the Silver Arrows, who secured a fourth-consecutive one-two finish to start the season, breaking a record set by Williams in 1992.

The signs were clear, the title fight was likely between Hamilton and Bottas. The Finn couldn't really hold a candle to his much more decorated team-mate, could he?

Monaco GP (Qual: 1st – Race: 1st)

Emotions were high at Mercedes and with Hamilton after the passing of Niki Lauda ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix; the Austrian having played a crucial role in convincing Hamilton to swap McLaren for Mercedes in 2013, as well as twisting the Silver Arrows' arm that Hamilton was the man they needed after moving on from the returning but aged Michael Schumacher.

A win from pole on the surface seems routine, but Hamilton was pushed and harried by Max Verstappen for two-thirds of this race through the principality, as the Dutchman tried to undo the damage of a five-second penalty incurred for obstructing Bottas in the pit-lane. Late contact between Hamilton and Verstappen might have eliminated both, but the Mercedes man held firm to win and begin building a championship lead that would not be relinquished again all year.