Hamilton hunting Prost

This weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix could see Lewis Hamilton pull level with F1 legend Alain Prost’s tally of race wins. Prost took the chequered flag first 51 times in his illustrious career. Hamilton currently sits on 50 career wins in Formula 1, and shows no signs of stopping just yet.

During the course of his F1 career, Hamilton has accumulated records at a steady rate. He already has more wins (50) and pole positions (58) than any other British driver in the sport’s history (considering the number of British F1 drivers, the comparison is actually meaningful) and is equal with Jackie Stewart for most titles by a British driver (3).

In the overall standings, Hamilton lies third for pole positions on 58, after Michael Schumacher (68) and Ayrton Senna (65). If Mercedes remain competitive, it is possible that Hamilton could top the pole position list as soon as 2017.

A more significant record, though, is that for most career victories. Hamilton currently lies third in the overall standings, on 50 wins. Michael Schumacher leads the way by some margin on 91, with Alain Prost second on 51. It’s Prost’s second place that Hamilton seems sure to match, perhaps even in Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.

Prost achieved his 51st win (at the time a record) in his 196th race entry. Lewis Hamilton (if he wins on Sunday) would match Prost’s tally in only his 186th race, 10 fewer than the illustrious Frenchman. It’s worth noting here that Michael Schumacher’s 51st victory came in just his 158th F1 race when he won the 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix. Also interesting to note is Schumacher and Prost each took their 51st win in the year they won their fourth World Championship (Prost in 1993 and Schumacher in 2001). If Hamilton wins the title this year, he will also match Prost’s tally of 4 titles.

Lewis Hamilton is only 31 years old and potentially has several F1 seasons remaining in his career. It seems virtually certain that he will equal Prost’s tally of wins, perhaps even this weekend. The next target is Schumacher’s mammoth 91 victories. How close can Hamilton get? Time will tell.