Lewis Hamilton wins Portuguese GP for record 92nd F1 victory

Historic win puts British driver one ahead of German racing great Michael Schumacher

Hamilton finished nearly 25.6 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and took extra point for fastest lap

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Lewis Hamilton is sprayed with champagne at the podium by fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas after the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao on Sunday. Photo: AP

Published: 1:32am, 26 Oct 2020Updated: 1:32am, 26 Oct 2020

British driver Lewis Hamilton made Formula One history on Sunday, winning the Portuguese Grand Prix for a 92nd career victory to move one ahead of German great Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton finished nearly 25.6 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and 34.5 clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for his eighth win of another dominant season. He also took an extra point for the fastest lap to extend his huge championship lead to 77 points over Bottas with just five races left.

Hamilton won his first F1 race in 2007 and first title the following year. But his career really took off when he replaced the retired Schumacher at Mercedes in 2013. Hamilton added five more F1 titles and the runaway championship leader is now set to equal Schumacher’s record of seven.

“I could only ever have dreamed of being where I am today,” an emotional Hamilton said. “It’s going to take some time to fully sink in. I can’t find the words at the moment.”

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton crosses the line to win the race at Algarve International Circuit, Portimao on Sunday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Soon after crossing the line and celebrating with the team’s mechanics and engineers, Hamilton paused to share a long hug with his father, Anthony Hamilton, who then filmed the scene on his iPad as Hamilton celebrated on the podium while the crowd cheered him loudly.