On this day in 2020: Lewis Hamilton matches Michael Schumacher’s record of wins
Lewis Hamilton made history by matching Michael Schumacher’s Formula One record of race wins at the Eifel Grand Prix on October 11, 2020.
The British driver started second at the Nurburgring but assumed control of the race on lap 13 when Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas slid off the road.
Despite a late safety car, Hamilton kept his cool to cross the line 4.4 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and claim the 91st win of his remarkable career, 14 years and 10 days after Schumacher’s final grand prix triumph in China.
The Schumacher Family on @LewisHamilton winning his 91st GP, equalling Michael’s record: Big congrats, an impressive achievement of a great driver. We cannot deny we would have loved for Michael to hold those records, but as he always used to say: records are there to be broken. pic.twitter.com/xDRhVp5HVf
— Michael Schumacher (@schumacher) October 11, 2020
Schumacher’s son Mick presented Hamilton with his father’s crash helmet in the moments after the race as a present from the family.
Hamilton said: “I grew up watching Michael winning all those grands prix and I could not fathom equalling him.
“Getting to Formula One was the first step of the dream and then emulating Ayrton Senna. But Michael’s record was just so far ahead.
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A record we could barely imagine would one day be matched.
Lewis Hamilton equals the legendary Michael Schumacher's win tally, earning a special prize from Michael's son, Mick 🤝#EifelGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/3B2SFE4JKe
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 11, 2020
“It is beyond my wildest dreams that I am here today having equalled that record and I just feel humbled by the moment. It has not sunk in.
“Michael is, and always will be, a legend of the sport and I feel very honoured to have one of his helmets.”
Hamilton went on to equal Schumacher’s record with a seventh World Drivers’ Championship in 2020. He currently has 103 victories but was denied an eighth drivers’ title last year in controversial circumstances when Verstappen overtook him on the final lap of the last race.
