01 / The championship years
2008 — 2020SEVEN.
NEVER
THE SAME.
Every title has its own finishing line.
A last-lap pass. A season-long duel. A drive through the rain.
One with McLaren. Six with Mercedes.
Explore the seven seasons that made Hamilton a world champion.
The title laboratory / 01—07
Find the finishing line.
Seven years. Seven different ways to win.
Choose a year to enter its story.
2008 / McLaren
To the final corner.
A last-lap pass in Brazil. Fifth at the flag. A world championship decided by a single point.
- Season wins
- 05
- Decisive race
- São Paulo
SELECT A SEASON. TRACE THE DIFFERENCE.
Seven chapters.
Open a year. Follow the decisive race.
012008To the final corner.McLaren / São Paulo
2 November 2008
One position. One point. The beginning.
Rain turned the last laps in Brazil into a moving target. Felipe Massa won the race. Hamilton still needed fifth place, and found it by passing Timo Glock near the end of the final lap.
That fifth place delivered the championship by a single point. In just his second Formula 1 season, Hamilton had reached the summit — with a finish that made every remaining metre matter.
Formula 1 / Title showdowns- Season wins
- 05
- Title-clinching finish
- P5
- Team
- McLaren
022014A new team. A second crown.Mercedes / Abu Dhabi
23 November 2014
Six years later, a different kind of finish.
Hamilton took the lead from Nico Rosberg at the start and controlled the finale. When his team-mate suffered mechanical problems, the championship contest changed — but Felipe Massa kept the race alive, finishing less than three seconds behind.
An eleventh victory completed the season and brought Hamilton his first title with Mercedes. The long gap since 2008 ended with a win, rather than a calculation at the final corner.
Formula 1 / Abu Dhabi race report- Season wins
- 11
- Title-clinching finish
- P1
- Team
- Mercedes
032015The first repeat.Mercedes / Austin
25 October 2015
Back to back. Three in total.
A wet-to-dry United States Grand Prix brought changing grip, close racing and repeated changes at the front. Hamilton emerged with the victory and an advantage that the remaining three rounds could no longer erase.
It was his tenth win of the season. A third championship placed him alongside the title tally of Ayrton Senna, the driver he had looked up to as a child.
FIA / United States race report- Season wins
- 10
- Title-clinching finish
- P1
- Team
- Mercedes
042017The recovery counts.Mercedes / Mexico City
29 October 2017
A puncture. A fight back. A fourth title.
Contact on the opening lap left Hamilton with a punctured right-rear tyre. Both he and championship rival Sebastian Vettel had to recover from the back of the field.
Vettel reached fourth and Hamilton ninth. With two rounds remaining, those results settled the championship. The season did not need a victory on its decisive day; the work already done had created the margin.
Formula 1 / Mexico race report- Season wins
- 09
- Title-clinching finish
- P9
- Team
- Mercedes
052018Five. A rare altitude.Mercedes / Mexico City
28 October 2018
The third driver to reach five championships.
For the second consecutive year, Mexico City became the place where the title was decided. Hamilton finished fourth while Vettel took second; with two races left, the championship was beyond reach.
A fifth crown matched Juan Manuel Fangio. Hamilton would finish the season with eleven victories, an achievement built across the calendar rather than contained in one afternoon.
Formula 1 / Mexico race report- Season wins
- 11
- Title-clinching finish
- P4
- Team
- Mercedes
062019The sixth, in pursuit.Mercedes / Austin
3 November 2019
Second at the flag. First across the season.
Valtteri Bottas won in Austin, but Hamilton’s second place was enough to secure the championship. His one-stop strategy left him defending the lead late in the race before Bottas passed on fresher tyres.
The result made Hamilton a six-time champion, with three titles in succession. He ended the season with eleven victories.
Formula 1 / United States race report- Season wins
- 11
- Title-clinching finish
- P2
- Team
- Mercedes
072020Seven, through the rain.Mercedes / Istanbul
15 November 2020
From sixth on the grid to a shared summit.
On a wet, low-grip circuit, Hamilton started sixth and worked his way into contention. He passed Sergio Pérez for the lead and made a single tyre stop work across the changing conditions.
Victory secured his seventh world championship, matching Michael Schumacher’s record. Hamilton would end the shortened season with eleven wins — and a championship-clinching drive shaped by patience as much as speed.
FIA / Turkish Grand Prix race report- Season wins
- 11
- Title-clinching finish
- P1
- Team
- Mercedes
The result shown is the Grand Prix finish that secured each title; season wins cover the full season. Season summary / Formula 1 Hall of Fame ↗
A shared record
SEVEN TITLES.
ONE OF TWO.
Hamilton’s 2020 championship matched Michael Schumacher’s seven. It is a shared record for World Drivers’ Championships.
Explore the record register