Hamilton extends his contract: Fifteenth season and eighth title for Lewis?

The extreme talent

Lewis Hamilton has come a long way. As a child, the young Brit has a father who holds various jobs to sponsor his son's career. The Hamilton family is not wealthy and so Hamilton does not come with the best equipment at the start of various kart races. That is precisely why Hamilton impresses.

Despite the limited equipment, Hamilton manages to win one race after another and also stands out at McLaren. At a young age, he has been supported by the iconic team, which will also guide him towards Formula 1. After titles in Formula Renault, Formula 3 and GP2, it is time for the final step in 2007.

Fierce duel at McLaren

When Hamilton makes his debut at McLaren in 2007, expectations are very low. He may have won the GP2 and made a big impression in tests, but with the arrival of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, the division of roles within the team seems clear. However, Hamilton does not want to participate in that division of roles.

While Alonso is assured to be number one prior to the season, Ron Dennis appears to be unable to keep that promise if that "Rookie" turns out much faster than expected. Hamilton scores one podium after another, and even takes his first victory in Canada. Tensions within the team are running high, and together with Spygate, it almost collapses McLaren.

Hamilton wastes his title chances in China when he drives into the gravel at the pit lane and cannot get out. Fernando Alonso scores as many points as his teammate, and with one more point Kimi Raikkonen is third at Ferrari. However, Hamilton has shown himself to be a special talent with his first season in F1.

Is that Timo Glock?

In 2008 Alonso disappeared and with Heikki Kovalainen as his teammate, Hamilton is the undisputed number one at McLaren. Hamilton seems to pay off that confidence with a world title, but in the rain in Brazil, it all seems to go wrong. For half lap, Felipe Massa and Ferrari think they have won the world title again in the last race, but when Hamilton passes Timo Glock in the last corner of the last lap of the last race, Hamilton still becomes world champion.

The step to Mercedes

The start of an impressive season seems set, but McLaren falls back in 2009. Hamilton wins two more races but has to watch fellow countryman Jenson Button win the world title with BrawnGP. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, frustration builds up for Hamilton, when he wins races every year but never really has the car to compete for the world title.

Hamilton is being pampered by Niki Lauda, ​​and after an exemplary outing in Singapore, Hamilton knows enough. Everyone is shocked when Hamilton announces that he will go to Mercedes in 2013. The relatively new team would never be a good step for Hamilton, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Hamilton vs Rosberg

In 2013, Hamilton already finished ahead of the McLaren drivers and took one victory for his new team. However, the move turned out to be a masterstroke in 2014, when Mercedes takes a huge lead over the competition with the new regulations. The title fight is between Nico Rosberg and Lewis, with the Brit as the ultimate winner.

We also see this game in 2015 with the same result. But Hamilton is defeated in 2016. An exploded engine in Malaysia eventually ends his hopes, and a good conversation with Mercedes management is needed.

That conversation becomes a lot easier if Rosberg decides to stop immediately. The German can no longer take the pressure and indicates that he has given everything to be able to beat Lewis once. So that's what it takes from a driver to beat Hamilton. However, he keeps getting better and has no child with his teammate in the following years.

Michael Schumacher's record

Valtteri Bottas makes the switch from Williams but is never really a threat to Lewis. The Brit is almost always in charge of Bottas and Bottas doesn't have that extra mental boost to be able to beat Hamilton. Hamilton will still face resistance from Sebastian Vettel in 2017 and 2018, but he will not be strong enough in a year either.

The youth is knocking at the door, because with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing have their own top driver in the line-up, with which they hope to break Mercedes and Hamilton. However, with four world titles in a row and seven in total, Hamilton is again the big favourite in 2021, and with that, he could pass Michael Schumacher's seven world titles. Are ten world titles still attainable?

This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.