Despite an upturn in form at Silverstone, Mercedes AMG F1 still seems to be lagging behind Red Bull and Ferrari and there is no guarantee that the gap will be closed by the end of the Formula 1 season. A problem for Lewis Hamilton, who is aiming for many records that could be slipping away from him. And some of them permanently. 

After eight seasons of domination, Mercedes has not succeeded in adapting to the new regulations introduced this season in Formula 1. Despite a radical choice in the design of its single-seater, it is not working as designed. Ferrari and Red Bull have obviously done a better job of it, as both teams are dominating the current season. At Silverstone, however, Lewis Hamilton was able to take advantage of his car’s improved form to score another career podium, which also set a new record.

It was the thirteenth time that the British driver had finished on the podium at a single Grand Prix. In doing so, he beats Michael Schumacher, who has taken twelve podiums in Imola, Barcelona and Montreal in the course of his career. However, given the pace of his Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton could see some records slip away.

The first record in serious danger for Lewis Hamilton is the number of consecutive seasons with at least one win. Since his arrival in F1 in 2007, the British driver has never had a year without finishing on the top step of the podium. That makes 15 consecutive seasons with at least one win. A record he shares with Michael Schumacher, whose streak extended from 1992 to 2006. Consequently, everyone expected Lewis Hamilton to become the sole record holder in 2022 with a sixteenth consecutive season in which he won at least once. Except that no one expected Mercedes to miss out on the design of their car and fall behind Red Bull and Ferrari.

As the halfway point of the season approaches, Lewis Hamilton has yet to win. He was close to victory at Silverstone, which seems to bode well for the future. 

Other records seemed to be promised to Lewis Hamilton this season. But his Mercedes could well force him to postpone the deadline, perhaps indefinitely. The first of these is of course the number of world titles. With seven titles, the British driver is in the Formula 1 Hall of Fame alongside Michael Schumacher.

Last season, Lewis Hamilton was one lap away from becoming the only driver with eight world titles. And it is unlikely that he will achieve that this year, given his deficit to Max Verstappen. Another record that Lewis Hamilton will have to wait for is the number of victories at a single Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher won eight times at Magny-Cours, as did the British driver at Silverstone and at the Hungaroring. He has therefore not won his home GP for the ninth time, but can still hope to do so in Hungary, where the race will take place on 31 July.

Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton will not be the favourite and may have to wait another season. The same goes for the number of fastest laps in the race. Michael Schumacher has 77 of them to his credit, compared to 60 for the Briton, whose car clearly does not allow him to be the fastest man on the track at the moment.

Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton can rest easy, some of his records are out of reach for the moment. With 103 F1 victories, Lewis has plenty of room to manoeuvre before he is threatened by any driver. Among the active drivers, Sebastian Vettel (53 victories) and Fernando Alonso (32 victories) are the closest, but they will not catch up with the British driver, who can still worry about the relentless pace of Max Verstappen who has already won 26 times already.

But the Mercedes driver still has a good margin. With 103 pole positions, Lewis Hamilton is even more confident in this area. And for good reason, the precocious Dutchman does not really excel in qualifying and with 15 poles, he will probably never threaten the seven-time world champion who has his most solid record there. By taking his 185th podium at Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton has further improved on a record he has held for a long time.

However, Max Verstappen has a string of top three finishes in races and already has 67 podiums to his name, which should bring him closer to the end of the season. But Lewis Hamilton still has room to improve.