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Hamilton and Mercedes: the statistics

20 May 2015

Did you know that Lewis Hamilton has claimed 15 victories and 26 podiums from 43 races with Mercedes? With the two-time world champion announcing a new deal with the Silver Arrows, we take a look at some of their defining landmarks so far in Formula One racing...
  • Hamilton made his debut for Mercedes in Australia in 2013. His first Formula One Grand Prix for anyone other than McLaren, he qualified third - little more than 0.2s off the front row - and led four laps in total, but had to settle for fifth at the chequered flag.
  • It was one of five races Hamilton led that season: he also hit the front in China, Canada, Great Britain and Hungary, the latter of which also delivered his breakthrough triumph for the team.
  • In fact, Hamilton has led at least one lap in 25 of the 43 Grands Prix he has contested for Mercedes - a strike rate of 58 per cent. He has led 734 laps in total with the Silver Arrows (from a possible 2,426).
  • Hamilton's win count is similarly impressive: he has claimed 15 victories from 43 races with Mercedes, at a rate of one win every 3.5 races.
  • Similarly, the Briton has claimed 16 pole positions from 43 race starts. In addition, he has started from second on 13 occasions - meaning he has booked a place on the front row 29 times (or 67 per cent of the time) so far with Mercedes.
  • Perhaps even more impressively, Hamilton has only qualified outside the top ten on three occasions with Mercedes - and two of those have extenuating circumstances. Brake issues and a gearbox penalty left him 20th in Germany last year, for example, while a fire put paid to his hopes in Hungary, also in 2014. The only other occurrence was at Monza in 2013, when Hamilton admitted he "didn't get a lap together" as he struggled to 12th on the grid.
  • Similarly, there has just been one race since 2013 where Hamilton has seen the chequered flag but not scored points - Spain in 2013. He actually started the race second, but struggled badly with set-up and tyre management, and was also delayed at his first pit stop. He eventually finished one lap down in 12th.
  • Hamilton has racked up 26 podiums in total with Mercedes - a total which surpasses every other driver over the same time period.
  • This year Hamilton has taken things to even greater heights: from five races he has claimed five podiums, four poles and three victories, set three fastest laps, and has led for 173 of the 293 laps in total.