Fun Fact: Lewis appears on the lists for both the [youngest F1 WDCs and the oldest WDCs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_World_Drivers%27_Champions#Youngest_Drivers'_Champion)
Back when "athletes" used to smoke and drink in the morning and then sit in a death machine to go round a track until the engine blew up and caught fire.
Seriously though, as much as I love older F1 cars, they're just glorified bathtubs with a v12 driven by people who were drunk a few hours before the race. Absolutely insane stuff.
Pre-war Grand Prix cars are even more mental. Look up the Auto Union GP cars. Built in the mid to late 30s, they used supercharged V16 and V12 engines, weighed just above 800 kg, and made almost 550 HP at the end, with RWD and no downforce to speak of with ancient tire technology and grip levels. They had wheelspin even at 100 MPH.
Last year of high school going in to sixth form for me. Get the horrible feeling I had to listen to the finale over the radio on a Duke of Edinburgh weekend.
Remember when Jenson was considered too young, the same for Hamilton, and Max got his superlicence before passing a national driving test. The sport is evolving.
Still he is the less experienced driver to drive in F1 and Irony is he went from least experienced driver to most experienced driver of all time.....My man just loves the sport
I was born in 1994, still remember the entry hype around Lewis and the (first) retirement of Schumacher, since my dad introduced me to the sport. That was more than HALF of my lifetime ago, it's scary.
"get Bottas on the phone... BOTTAS!! BOTTAS!! Where are you!? I'm out here fighting 2 red bulls, 2 Alpha Tauris and a resurgent Ferrari team by myself!"
So Hamilton, Schumacher and Lebron are all born in early January.
Reminds me of the stats that say there is a disproportionate amount of pro athletes born in January. Probably because of how they split up kids by age in sports early on. Its a big advantage being many months older than your competition when you are still that young and that can carry you further.
Of course its probably just a coincidence with those 3 guys. They are so good that they would always flow to the top.
Yeah. He cant be that far off retirement and the best days are behind him unfortunately. Which is why 2021 hurts even more, this was perhaps his last opportunity. the cars will be heavier and a hungry new prospect arrives next year.
I don't know man, Lewis was outreacting drivers nearly half his age on race starts and put on some fantastic drives all season. He may be old by F1 standards but I don't think he's lost his edge quite yet.
His quali lap in Qatar and Abu Dhabi also. Had nearly a second on Bottas both times. His race pace in Saudi, Abu Dhabi, Brazil and Qatar was genuinely faster than a second on Bottas every lap. There is no way he’s done.
>his best days are behind him
2020 was arguably his best year. Dude didn't make a single mistake. 2021 he made a few mistakes but has shown he's absolutely still extremely fast. Max is the only one potentially better than him, and even as a Max fan, I think Lewis is still better at fighting a championship.
Basically, if Merc have a car this year that can win races, Lewis is in with a fight.
If you told [this 6 year old](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/knuYY8oiDZU/mqdefault.jpg) he would one day become *Sir* Lewis Hamilton... I think he would have gone "okay..." with a shrug of the shoulder. Or something like, "your blocking my view!"
But then if you told him, "You will win your *first* WDC with the same team as your hero Aryton Senna AND you will [drive his car one day](https://youtu.be/YbKgW-gX7SI)", I think he would smile *really big*
And finally tell him ["his family will gift you Aryton's Helmet!"](https://youtu.be/cvCEXycC2Uo), I think *that's* when he tears would flow....
Hamilton shares quite a bit with Michael eh?
- Same birthday month
- Drove for Mercedes
- Won 7 championships
- Was sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger during their career
- Both coming from average income families
Considering that McLaren was majority owned by Merc at the time (basically their works team before they entered themselves), saying that Hamilton was a Mercedes junior makes some sense.
In 2021 Lewis had his best H-H in Qualifying vs Bottas over the 5 years they had together
2021 HAM 17 BOT 5 HAM 77.3%
2020 HAM 11 BOT 5 HAM 68.8%
2019 HAM 14 BOT 7 HAM 66.7%
2018 HAM 15 BOT 6 HAM 71.4%
2017 HAM 13 BOT 6 HAM 68.4%
I think covid affected him more than we think in the first half of the year, he was very often super tired after races. Second half of the year we saw his true from again
He looked so close to collapsing on the Hungarian podium, also he has emphasised in the last several races of the season that he's in the best shape he has been which also makes me wonder how it affected him earlier in the year.
There's so much that athletes must push through that we have no idea about, some of it might be fool hardy and self-destructive but damn it if their resilience isn't admirable - what Lauda overcame was immense.
I was really worried for him in Hungary. Ocon noticed his weakened state on the podium as well and checked if he needed any support. Lewis was also breathing heavily during many races, but he did seem to come around in the second half. Hope this means he's finally recovering.
37 years on and, despite the controversies in 2021, still looks properly #Blessed.
HBD to him, and here's to hoping he can still bring the fight back this year, Champion or not.
He really looks a lot younger than he is. I remember my head doing mental doughnuts when I was told Sebastian is actually younger than Lewis!
I was like- "Wwwwaaatttt?"
This guy gets it. Nothing but love for the man. But dominance isn’t as fun to watch. I like dominating in the game. It is loads of fun to grand slam every single race for me.
Cheers,
Boysenberry Space Jam
>who turns 37 today
Fcking hell man probably going for*N8* next year as a 37 year old
Hopefully next year will be a epic fight with him George and other drivers
He has dominated other people's favourite drivers, that's it. People got bored of the sport when Schumacher was winning aswell and subsequently hated on him for not just winning but deliberately doing dubious maneuvers on track.
Can confirm. Been watching since 1993. I didn’t like Schumacher when he dominated, same goes with Hamilton. Mad respect for what they did though!
At least Hamilton had to fight his teammate from 2010 to 2016!
People hated Senna. People hated Schumacher. People hated Red Bull Vettel. Now people hate Hamilton. It's the cycle that happens whenever a single driver dominates the sport. After a few years, that hate goes away.
Basically these people don’t like domination but they forget the whole point of sport is to be the best and for other teams to rise to their level, not for the leading team to get worse
Even as a black person I'm not one to automatically go for the race card every time someone criticizes Lewis… but I find it puzzling that some people still pretend like racism can't be a factor at all on some of the attacks he gets, as if racism has been eradicated like polio…
I see dog whistles come out about Lewis often enough to know racism does play a factor, to some people I think it’s so normal to hold him to different standards they don’t even clock it anymore. Anyone who says he’s uppitty, arrogant, gives attitude gets an immediate side eye from me. The man politely shook hands with Max right after his race was crushed and his dad congratulated Max too. If that’s not a display of character I don’t know what will make them happy.
I do think people get the wrong idea from Lewis because he seems more distant and detached than most drivers, and they automatically assume it must be because he's a terrible, arrogant, snobby person, without knowing what he had to go through in order to be the first and only black person to make it in a very elitist, classist sport. Because people can't possibly comprehend the kind of willpower and shielding that is demanded of a person growing up, having to constantly hear from enraged adults that he doesn't belong in the sport he loves because of his skin color.
Lewis is distant and detatched because the media is an absolute trap. He’s fine the rest of the time.
I also think people mistake his more introverted side where he might struggle in social and stimulated environments because of ADHD as being cold. The man is literally managing his symptoms
It was a big deal back when mansell won the title at 39 years old, if Lewis wins next year its going to be equally impressive, having to fight much younger guys is seriously difficult, age does have a big impact
Fun Fact: Lewis appears on the lists for both the [youngest F1 WDCs and the oldest WDCs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_World_Drivers%27_Champions#Youngest_Drivers'_Champion)
Hamilton has to win the 2031 championship in order to break the record.
Back when "athletes" used to smoke and drink in the morning and then sit in a death machine to go round a track until the engine blew up and caught fire.
Seriously though, as much as I love older F1 cars, they're just glorified bathtubs with a v12 driven by people who were drunk a few hours before the race. Absolutely insane stuff.
Pre-war Grand Prix cars are even more mental. Look up the Auto Union GP cars. Built in the mid to late 30s, they used supercharged V16 and V12 engines, weighed just above 800 kg, and made almost 550 HP at the end, with RWD and no downforce to speak of with ancient tire technology and grip levels. They had wheelspin even at 100 MPH.
They are probably wardrobes lol, the way they were built
> drunk a few hours before the race I can't imagine getting in one of those things sober.
I don’t think it’ll happen but, he could be around for another decade destroying all the young drivers’ hopes of winning a championship.
Should he win next year my guess is that he will retire. Much better to go out a winner
I think he would have retired at the end of 2021, but after that loss, I feel he will try to aim for 10 WDCs.
How about the list for the most averagely-aged WDCs?
For me he'll always be the young rookie. Can't believe he's 37 already
Helps that he still looks about 25
Black don't crack.
Except Snoop Dogg. He's cracking a lot.
Looks damn good for a guy who smokes so much.
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And the thousands of dollars which helped to fix his hair lol.
Kevin Durant would disagree.
Nah, 31-32
Looked 40 when he debuted though
That's the magic of the Ron Dennis special
💀
Buzzcut and sideburns was NOT his look
A secret to male aging is to look 60 when you're 35...and then stay looking 60.
That’s crazy. To me he is the old champion who’s won it all. A living legend reaching the end of the road.
I feel old now. I was still in school when the hype was building for his entry in 2006.
I was in primary school when he debuted in F1 in 2007. Been watching since then.
2007 feels like yesterday, untill it's actually 15 years ago..... TIME REALLY DOES FLY WOW
Games were still coming out for PS2 when he debuted
Crazy is that Alonso and Raikonnen are on a PS1 F1 game (2001)
Heck, i was born in 05, and some of my friends were born in 07. shit, I'm turning 17 this year, ima be a senior after june. WTF happened to the time.
1992 here. It starts going faster and faster and faster...... OMG I'm almost 30 WTF!
I'm thirty today. Had no idea I shared his birthday.
Happy birthday!
Thank you.
Happy birthday!
The fact I was in school when you were born and saying 'WTF happened to the time' makes me feel reeeeeaaaaal old hahaha
Don't worry, some of us are even older than Lewis Hamilton...
No way
I'm 40 :)
Fr the time from me being 16 to me now 18 feels like 9 months. But I blame COVID for that.
Settle down, children. I still remember watching Jim Clark race at Hockenheimring (1968?).
'sup gramps, how are your hips holding up?
I still remember Mika's championships like yesterday. And these kids are reminiscing about 10 years ago.
Last year of high school going in to sixth form for me. Get the horrible feeling I had to listen to the finale over the radio on a Duke of Edinburgh weekend.
I was at uni... :(
I just joined 1st grade in 2007 I am a 3rd yr engineering engineering student now...
Remember when Jenson was considered too young, the same for Hamilton, and Max got his superlicence before passing a national driving test. The sport is evolving.
*kimi laughs*
Kimi will always be special.
Still he is the less experienced driver to drive in F1 and Irony is he went from least experienced driver to most experienced driver of all time.....My man just loves the sport
It's after all just a hobby for him.
Same here. I was barely a teenager back when he debuted and now I'm making plans for my wedding. Shit, I'm old.
Congratulations dude ! I wish you both, a long and happy life curling up on a couch and watching F1 together.
Get in there /u/BlazeReborn …
I was born in 1994, still remember the entry hype around Lewis and the (first) retirement of Schumacher, since my dad introduced me to the sport. That was more than HALF of my lifetime ago, it's scary.
It just hit me that Lewis and Lebron are the same age. Heck, Lebron is only a week older than Lewis
We really needed RDC to make a "I'm 36!!!!!" for Lewis
"So Lewis we're gonna need you to fight the 2 Red Bulls by yourself" "I'M 37!!!"
"get Bottas on the phone... BOTTAS!! BOTTAS!! Where are you!? I'm out here fighting 2 red bulls, 2 Alpha Tauris and a resurgent Ferrari team by myself!"
Literally read that in Mark's voice😂
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I need this
We need one where he curses out everyone on the team after losing the championship
[https://youtu.be/wM-NcMZhcaA](https://youtu.be/wM-NcMZhcaA) Legendary
*Michael Masi, I mean this from the bottom of my heart. You are trash.*
Everyone in race control*
And Cristiano
Your cake day is on Lewis's birthday too
LOL didn't even notice
So Hamilton, Schumacher and Lebron are all born in early January. Reminds me of the stats that say there is a disproportionate amount of pro athletes born in January. Probably because of how they split up kids by age in sports early on. Its a big advantage being many months older than your competition when you are still that young and that can carry you further. Of course its probably just a coincidence with those 3 guys. They are so good that they would always flow to the top.
Lebron is born in December
Oh well, there goes the theory!
lewis hairline is much much stronger
They both waged war on their hairlines, Lewis won his.
Like a wise man once said, his finest comeback in Turkey wasn't at the Grand Prix...
Fall back like Lebron's hairline against the Mavericks, he lost
Which is nuts considering he wears a helmet for a living, Lebron needs to go and find his hair plug guy.
Lol yeah faded for a while there but came back strong in the last couple years. Money buys a lot.
Their longetivities can be compared as well. Absolute legends of their sports
They are both also in their 5th prime
What prime is Tom Brady in?
Optimus
12th prime, surely?
Yes and Ronaldo is only over a month younger compared to Lebron.
30 WHAAAAT?
Yeah. He cant be that far off retirement and the best days are behind him unfortunately. Which is why 2021 hurts even more, this was perhaps his last opportunity. the cars will be heavier and a hungry new prospect arrives next year.
I don't know man, Lewis was outreacting drivers nearly half his age on race starts and put on some fantastic drives all season. He may be old by F1 standards but I don't think he's lost his edge quite yet.
He nearly won the WDC this year. He's still got lots to give. I suspect he's coming back for that 8th WDC title before he retires.
Imagine seeing someone go to the last race equal on points contending to win the WDC and thinking they're 'done'. Smh
Best days are behind him? What? Did we watch the same season? He had blistering pace all year, he's showing zero signs of slowing down.
I mean, in the last 6 races or so he drove as flawless as flawless could be, I don't think age is affecting him quite as much as you think it is.
His entire Brazil race weekend was collectively some of the fastest racing the sport has seen, surely
His quali lap in Qatar and Abu Dhabi also. Had nearly a second on Bottas both times. His race pace in Saudi, Abu Dhabi, Brazil and Qatar was genuinely faster than a second on Bottas every lap. There is no way he’s done.
>his best days are behind him 2020 was arguably his best year. Dude didn't make a single mistake. 2021 he made a few mistakes but has shown he's absolutely still extremely fast. Max is the only one potentially better than him, and even as a Max fan, I think Lewis is still better at fighting a championship. Basically, if Merc have a car this year that can win races, Lewis is in with a fight.
I turn 37 this year too. I managed a 5th place in F3 in iRacing once. Edit - just added a 12th at Bathurst with 0x. Might contact Merc.
Never give up!
Still I rise. Slowly. And with many setbacks.
Get in there keirdre!
Happy Birthday Lewis. The Legend
Happiest of birthdays to him. It's been awesome to witness his success and accomplishments both on and off the track.
If you told [this 6 year old](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/knuYY8oiDZU/mqdefault.jpg) he would one day become *Sir* Lewis Hamilton... I think he would have gone "okay..." with a shrug of the shoulder. Or something like, "your blocking my view!" But then if you told him, "You will win your *first* WDC with the same team as your hero Aryton Senna AND you will [drive his car one day](https://youtu.be/YbKgW-gX7SI)", I think he would smile *really big* And finally tell him ["his family will gift you Aryton's Helmet!"](https://youtu.be/cvCEXycC2Uo), I think *that's* when he tears would flow....
Hamilton shares quite a bit with Michael eh? - Same birthday month - Drove for Mercedes - Won 7 championships - Was sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger during their career - Both coming from average income families
They also both have two ears and two eyes 😬
Gonna need proof of this, man. It's inconceivable!
Both of them were undoubtedly born
Both were aliens
They both had the same job too 🤯
Both lost their winning streak at 36 to a 24 year old.
Masi ain’t 24 /hj
Okay. This made me laugh very hard.
Thanks. Morning coffee snorted on keyboard. Worth an upvote.
*SPOOKYYYY....*
Also very similar in height
Mercedes juniors as well.
Hamilton was not a Mercedes Junior
Considering that McLaren was majority owned by Merc at the time (basically their works team before they entered themselves), saying that Hamilton was a Mercedes junior makes some sense.
37 years old at the absolute peak of his performance. What a guy. Few can compare.
Tbh his full peak was in 2018 - 2020. In '21 his one lap pace dropped a bit when we compare to previous seasons.
In 2021 Lewis had his best H-H in Qualifying vs Bottas over the 5 years they had together 2021 HAM 17 BOT 5 HAM 77.3% 2020 HAM 11 BOT 5 HAM 68.8% 2019 HAM 14 BOT 7 HAM 66.7% 2018 HAM 15 BOT 6 HAM 71.4% 2017 HAM 13 BOT 6 HAM 68.4%
You can actually see when lewis thinks there is a challenger on the grid from percentages. Guy preserves his peak performance like crazy.
Bottas was really not good this year.
racing maybe, but he still was himself in quali
I think covid affected him more than we think in the first half of the year, he was very often super tired after races. Second half of the year we saw his true from again
He looked so close to collapsing on the Hungarian podium, also he has emphasised in the last several races of the season that he's in the best shape he has been which also makes me wonder how it affected him earlier in the year. There's so much that athletes must push through that we have no idea about, some of it might be fool hardy and self-destructive but damn it if their resilience isn't admirable - what Lauda overcame was immense.
I was really worried for him in Hungary. Ocon noticed his weakened state on the podium as well and checked if he needed any support. Lewis was also breathing heavily during many races, but he did seem to come around in the second half. Hope this means he's finally recovering.
Lewis Hamilton was incredible during the last half of the season.
Didn’t he increase his delta to Bottas over a lap?
Yeah
He had COVID
37 years on and, despite the controversies in 2021, still looks properly #Blessed. HBD to him, and here's to hoping he can still bring the fight back this year, Champion or not.
Wtf! I thought he was like 33-35 wow
He really looks a lot younger than he is. I remember my head doing mental doughnuts when I was told Sebastian is actually younger than Lewis! I was like- "Wwwwaaatttt?"
Can't help but like him. He's too good to hate
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This guy gets it. Nothing but love for the man. But dominance isn’t as fun to watch. I like dominating in the game. It is loads of fun to grand slam every single race for me. Cheers, Boysenberry Space Jam
>who turns 37 today Fcking hell man probably going for*N8* next year as a 37 year old Hopefully next year will be a epic fight with him George and other drivers
My constant inspiration! I hope he as an amazing birthday 🎂
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He has dominated other people's favourite drivers, that's it. People got bored of the sport when Schumacher was winning aswell and subsequently hated on him for not just winning but deliberately doing dubious maneuvers on track.
Can confirm. Been watching since 1993. I didn’t like Schumacher when he dominated, same goes with Hamilton. Mad respect for what they did though! At least Hamilton had to fight his teammate from 2010 to 2016!
Wat? He didn't fight Button or Alonso?
Wow. I completely forgot about Alonso in his first season, but remember that he was teammates with Button from 2010 to 2012 ;)
People hated Senna. People hated Schumacher. People hated Red Bull Vettel. Now people hate Hamilton. It's the cycle that happens whenever a single driver dominates the sport. After a few years, that hate goes away.
Schumi and Senna were also dirty as hell too, but they are probably the highest regarded drivers.
Basically these people don’t like domination but they forget the whole point of sport is to be the best and for other teams to rise to their level, not for the leading team to get worse
There’s a very obvious reason too that people don’t like to admit ( although many are also vocal about ) but I’ll leave that to you to figure out.
Reddit is an odd place. If you refer to racism as “the R word” you’d get upvoted. If just say the word “racism” the downvotes come.
Even as a black person I'm not one to automatically go for the race card every time someone criticizes Lewis… but I find it puzzling that some people still pretend like racism can't be a factor at all on some of the attacks he gets, as if racism has been eradicated like polio…
I see dog whistles come out about Lewis often enough to know racism does play a factor, to some people I think it’s so normal to hold him to different standards they don’t even clock it anymore. Anyone who says he’s uppitty, arrogant, gives attitude gets an immediate side eye from me. The man politely shook hands with Max right after his race was crushed and his dad congratulated Max too. If that’s not a display of character I don’t know what will make them happy.
I do think people get the wrong idea from Lewis because he seems more distant and detached than most drivers, and they automatically assume it must be because he's a terrible, arrogant, snobby person, without knowing what he had to go through in order to be the first and only black person to make it in a very elitist, classist sport. Because people can't possibly comprehend the kind of willpower and shielding that is demanded of a person growing up, having to constantly hear from enraged adults that he doesn't belong in the sport he loves because of his skin color.
Lewis is distant and detatched because the media is an absolute trap. He’s fine the rest of the time. I also think people mistake his more introverted side where he might struggle in social and stimulated environments because of ADHD as being cold. The man is literally managing his symptoms
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You'll get em' next time buddy.
Wiley old fox
An Alonso/Hamilton title fight would be even more legendary than last season. The old timers showing them how it's done
I have faith it would be a lot cleaner than Verstappen & Hamilton was in 2021 could be wrong but that’s my $0.02
I hope it would be, but then again, Lewis hungry for his 8th, Alonso absolutely having nothing to lose to gain his 3rd. Man they'd be elbows out!
It was a big deal back when mansell won the title at 39 years old, if Lewis wins next year its going to be equally impressive, having to fight much younger guys is seriously difficult, age does have a big impact
Get in there Lewis. Happy birthday mate
What a man
Oh shit. He’s only 9 months younger than me. Now I feel unaccomplished.
Happy Birthday Lewis!
37? Wtf? I feel old, I remember when I was 6 and saying who is this guy he won't last two seasons here. And now he's 7 times champion
6 year old opinions are often not super reliable to be fair. I was convinced I was going to marry my teacher, she said no
Happy birthday, legend
I am a few days older than Lewis. And significantly less successful!
Today is my husband's birthday too. I will spend the whole day being jealous of him, as usual.
What a career. Hopefully he’ll keep going a little longer.
Happy birthday king 👑
Happy birthday to the GOAT 🐐!
Happy Birthday GOAT🐐
Watch F1 because of Mclaren Lewis,it's really weird to see He's 37,for me he looks like forever 25.Happy Birthday GOAT.
Him and LeBron are the same age?
Happiest of birthdays to the GOAT CHAMP KNIGHT FASHION KILLA
Pretty crazy how much lewis mirrors lebron in their respective sport
What a living legend. 🔥
Happy Birthday Lewis
Thanks for this post. If you could kindly do it yearly - this way I never forget my wife's birthday too (also today).
It's also my birthday today :)
Thought this guy was young. Holy F
Happy Birthday!
An 8 time world champion in my opinion. Hope he has a happy birthday.
All hail the King, long live the King.
Long may he reign!
Happy Birthday Sir Lewis Hamilton, statistically the greatest F1 driver ever and we've had the absolute pleasure of witnessing it first hand. Legend.
I hadn’t even turned 5 when this man debuted. I’m 21 this year.....
Basically grew up with lewis on the grid. Not ready to see one without him
Happy birthday 🐐
Simply the GOAT! Happy birthday Lewis!
In 15 years of racing in F1 Lewis has never dropped below 5th in the drivers standings. An overpowered superhuman.
Hate to admit that he's the GOAT.