Lewis Hamilton surpassed a long-standing Formula 1 record at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix by securing a podium finish.
The seven-time world champion crossed the line in second place behind Max Verstappen which saw him stand on the podium for a record 17th season in a row. Michael Schumacher previously held the record having scored podiums in 16 successive years between 1992 and 2006.
Schumacher briefly retired at the end of the 2006 season but came back in 2010 with Mercedes where he scored one further podium in the 2012 European Grand Prix in Valencia.
But Hamilton’s 17 straight podium seasons from 2007 to 2023 – every year he has been in F1 – surpasses Schumacher’s consecutive record and puts him only one podium year away from the outright record.
Hamilton has already surpassed Schumacher‘s pole position and race wins records while drawing level on seven world titles in 2020. The Brit has shown no signs of wanting to quit until he has secured that elusive eighth-world crown with Mercedes.
Year by year
In 2007, the fresh-faced Hamilton stormed to a podium on debut for McLaren at Albert Park, the same circuit he scored his most recent although he will hope it’s not his last. He missed out on the championship by one point having scored 12 podiums in 17 races with four wins.
The 2008 F1 season saw him win his first world title with 10 podiums before a slump in 2009 with only five rostrums to his name.
Between 2010-2012 were his final three years with McLaren where he bagged 23 podiums across the three seasons but his move to Mercedes catapulted his tally.
Five podiums in 2013 was unspectacular but the new hybrid era saw the Silver Arrows become the dominant force. 16 podiums in 19 races in 2014 saw him win the championship again and set the tone for the next seven years.
He bagged 17 in 2015 and 2016 which were followed by 13 in 2017, 17 in 2018 and 2019 before he bagged another 14 in the shortened COVID-19 season of 2020.
He won the world title in all but one of those years – 2016 courtesy of Nico Rosberg – but 2021 saw him face a new challenger in Verstappen. Even another 17 podiums could not deny the Dutchman his first title.
He only managed nine podiums in 2022 and it was his first winless year in F1 but an early rostrum in 2023 is sure to relight the fire within for Hamilton.
