Lewis Hamilton is one of the three Formula 1 world champions left on the current grid. And he’s been involved in fierce battles with the other two.
Hamilton was teammates with Fernando Alonso when he broke into F1 with McLaren back in 2007. Their bitter partnership only lasted a year before the Spaniard returned to Renault.
A remarkable season saw the duo finish level on points, with Kimi Raikkonen pipping them to the title. Hamilton and Alonso periodically duelled during their days at McLaren and Ferrari (and latterly Mercedes/Aston Martin) but ’07 remains the peak of their rivalry.
At that time, Alonso was a proven double world champion, while Hamilton was the emerging sensation. The script flipped for 2021 as the Briton chased a fifth consecutive title against Max Verstappen.
| RANK | DRIVER | TITLES | YEARS |
| =1 | Lewis Hamilton | 7 | 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| =1 | Michael Schumacher | 7 | 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| 3 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 5 | 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 |
| =4 | Max Verstappen | 4 | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| =4 | Alain Prost | 4 | 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993 |
| =4 | Sebastian Vettel | 4 | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| =7 | Ayrton Senna | 3 | 1998, 1990, 1991 |
| =7 | Nelson Piquet | 3 | 1981, 1983, 1987 |
| =7 | Niki Lauda | 3 | 1975, 1977, 1984 |
| =7 | Jackie Stewart | 3 | 1969, 1971, 1973 |
| =7 | Jack Brabham | 3 | 1959, 1960, 1966 |
Verstappen’s battle with Hamilton, which featured multiple collisions and sparked an off-track war between their respective teams, went down to the final race. He snatched the championship on the very last lap in Abu Dhabi and hasn’t relinquished the throne since.
By prevailing for a fourth straight year, Verstappen tied Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel in the all-time list. He now has only Juan Manuel Fangio (five), Hamilton and Michael Schumacher (both seven) in his sights.
Why Lewis Hamilton called Sebastian Vettel ‘the best world champion I know’
Hamilton is currently carrying out a ‘farewell tour’ after completing his final race for Mercedes. This entails appearances for some of the team’s major partners.
On Monday, he attended an event for title sponsors Petronas in Malaysia. While on stage, he showered Vettel with praise.
While Verstappen has now tied Vettel, Hamilton says the German is ‘far more than a driver’. He’s displayed his social conscience since retiring at the end of 2022.
Vettel gathered the drivers together at the 2023 Japanese GP for a biodiversity project and has been consistently outspoken on the issue of climate change. Hamilton, who has used his platform to fight for equality, is appreciative of his efforts.
“He’s the best world champion that I know,” he said. “He’s far more than a driver. He’s someone with real passion. He’s empathetic, and he cares for people. He actually is the only other one that’s tried to utilise his platform for some good.”
The advice Sebastian Vettel has already given Lewis Hamilton before Ferrari move
Like Verstappen and Alonso, Vettel won all of his titles consecutively. His period of dominance came in the final years of the V8 era between 2010 and 2013.
He left Red Bull at the end of 2014 to pursue his Ferrari dream, and while he won 14 races for the Scuderia, he never achieved his ultimate goal of a title in their colours. Hamilton will therefore look to succeed where he failed.
They could well end up working with the same race engineer in Riccardo Adami. Hamilton has already called Vettel to ask about Adami, though Fred Vasseur has yet to confirm whether he’ll occupy the role.
The 37-year-old has also offered public advice in interviews. Vettel says joining Ferrari will be ‘difficult’ for Hamilton because he’ll no longer be surrounded by familiar faces, but he expects him to adapt eventually.
