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Lewis Hamilton's career will go down as arguably one of the more accomplished ones in the history of F1. The driver first drove a Formula 1 car in 2007 and shocked the world in his debut season.
Since then, he has become a permanent fixture in F1. His move to Mercedes in 2013 was initially mocked by everyone only to realize a year later how it was a masterstroke.
Hamilton completed as many as 15 seasons where he not only won a race every year but also secured pole position. It was due to this brilliant run that Hamilton has become such a fan favorite and in so many ways ascended the sport as well.
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Currently, the Brit driver has more Instagram followers than the sport itself and that should show the kind of mind space he occupies right now. While we look back at his career, it's hard to just pick and choose points in his career where he was at the next level.
Having said that, there are a few moments that stand out in the Mercedes driver's career when we try to chronicle his journey as an F1 driver and superstar.
In this feature, we will do just that as we take a look at the 10 most memorable moments of Lewis Hamilton's career.
#1 The move on Fernando Alonso in his rookie race (2007 F1 Australian GP)
It all started on the first lap of Lewis Hamilton's career and what better way to make a statement than overtaking your teammate around the outside at the start of the race?
Hamilton was supposed to be Fernando Alonso's understudy in his rookie season but it all flipped on the very first lap of the former's career.
#2 Lewis Hamilton's first win (2007 F1 Canadian GP)
After stringing together podiums in every race since making his debut, a win still eluded Lewis Hamilton. This was until Canada when the then-young driver blitzed the field and got pole position.
From that point onwards, Hamilton kept things simple while drivers around him made mistakes. By the time the chequered flag fell, the Brit was coasting to what was the first win of his career.
#3 The wet race win in Silverstone (2008 F1 British GP)
After his first season where he missed out on the title in the last race of the season, the 2008 F1 season gave Lewis Hamilton another opportunity to battle for the title.
In rainy conditions, he was just on a different level from everyone else and ended up winning the race by more than a minute.
#4 The first title win in 2008
The last lap overtake of Timo Glock has to be considered one of the more iconic moments of Lewis Hamilton's career because it did appear that all was lost at the time Felipe Massa crossed the chequered flag.
Then we saw the British driver overtake Glock and that flipped the script completely. That was Hamilton's first title which made him the youngest world champion in F1.
#5 The move to Mercedes in 2013
Jenson Button had famously remarked that his teammate Lewis Hamilton would regret the decision to move to Mercedes. At the time, in the eyes of many the decision did not make sense.
As it turned out, by the time 2014 started, everyone realized it was perfect timing for Lewis.
#6 Comeback in championship to beat Nico Rosberg in 2014
The 2014 F1 season was the best for Lewis Hamilton in terms of reliability and luck at the start of the season. The driver experienced far too much of it and coupled with Nico Rosberg producing some brilliant weekends Hamilton was trailing his teammate in the championship. It all came to a head in Belgium when he and Rosberg came together.
Hamilton would lose further ground at that stage but the tables turned after that. From that point onwards, he took charge and was just at a different level than anybody else which helped him clinch the title.
#7 Letting Valtteri Bottas through(2017 F1 Hungarian GP)
The 2017 F1 Hungarian GP was a race that truly cemented Lewis Hamilton's legacy. Every team has a lead driver and a wingman. Hamilton, however, always prided in the fact that his teammates had the same chance as him to win. This was obvious in the race in Hungary where he was let through by Valtteri Bottas to attack the leading Ferraris.
The premise was that if the Mercedes driver couldn't overtake he would give back the position to his teammate. More often than not, the lead driver does not give back the position but Hamilton obliged on his word, and on the last lap, gave back the position to Bottas.
#8 The race wins in Singapore and Monza in 2018
The 2018 F1 season was the one where Lewis Hamilton truly ascended to a level where no one could catch him.
It was visible from the two races in Monza and Singapore, where Ferrari was supposed to be the favorite to win but as it turned out, it was Hamilton who won both of those races.
The advantage he picked up from those races would never be lost and he just ran away with the title after that.
#9 Clinching seventh title in Turkey (2021 F1 Turkish GP)
The 2021 F1 Turkish GP was one race that came at a time when the burden of Lewis Hamilton's wins was starting to become too much. The driver had a dominant car and the growing discontent was for the driver winning because of Mercedes.
It was at this time that we had the race in Turkey where Mercedes was all at sea. The team had no idea what to make of the tricky conditions and the car was nowhere. It was at this race that Hamilton truly made the difference.
Being smart enough to identify that he shouldn't pit for a set of new tires and continue to see the chequered flag without any pitstops was what won Hamilton the race. With this race, he also won his seventh title and etched his name amongst the best in history.
#10 The win in Brazil (2021 F1 Brazilian GP)
The 2021 F1 season was a classic back-and-forth. It all came to a head in Brazil where Lewis Hamilton had a brilliant car under him and he was starting his race from the back of the grid.
Incisively making his way through the field and getting ahead of multiple drivers, Hamilton would end up winning the race and keeping the title fight alive.
