Hamilton’s sporting ‘masterpiece’

As Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in Texas in the Austin Grand Prix last Sunday, the jubilation was clear to see.

Six times a champion of the world, his third in a row and now only one behind the all-time record of seven, which is held by Michael Schumacher.

That’s a nice space to occupy.

Now cemented as Formula One’s second-most successful driver, Hamilton dubs his career his “masterpiece”.

“I’m so grateful to this sport for giving me a life and giving my life purpose. I really like the idea of trying to create a masterpiece. I think we all should be challenging ourselves to create our own masterpiece in some way, shape or form, and mine’s not finished.”

Hailing from the town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire in the UK, the 34-year-old’s story is very much one of rags to riches.

His life today is a stark comparison to the small council house he and his family spent much of his early years living in. Racing was nothing more than a hobby for the Brit, who began go-karting at the age of six. He also played on his school’s football team and took up karate as a defence against bullying.

However, as the talent became clear to see and the success began to heighten, so did the pressures and strains on the Hamilton family. With little spare income and a shoestring budget for racing, his father Anthony began working two jobs just to allow Hamilton to continue chasing his dream.

It all began to pay off, though. As the trophy cabinet began to swell, Hamilton met then McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony and, at the age of only 13, told the F1 stalwart he wanted to drive for the team one day.

Before long, he was signed to McLaren’s young driver initiative and began his ascension through motorsport’s single seaters.

Title success in Formula Three and F1’s feeder series, GP2, quickly followed and Hamilton embarked on his first season in F1 by 2007.

While expected to do well, no one predicted he would do quite so well. Four victories in his rookie season, enough to tie the record, and only missing the championship by one point, meant Hamilton burst on to the world stage with a bang.

In 2008, he managed to go one better and took his maiden F1 title in spectacular fashion – at the final corner of the final lap in the final race of the season.

At the time, he was 23 and the youngest driver to win a title.

Fast forward to 2014 and Hamilton was faced with his best chance to win a title since.

The new engine rules that were introduced gave him, his childhood friend and now team-mate Nico Rosberg and their Mercedes team a huge advantage over the rest of the grid.

A thrilling title fight full of drama, intrigue and upsets went down to the wire once more, and Hamilton duly claimed his second crown.

A third followed in 2015.

For all his might, Hamilton came up short in 2016 and lost to Rosberg by five points.

READ: Big bucks in Formula 1, but not for everyone

That spurred the 83-time race winner to fight back stronger than ever in 2017.

With Rosberg having quit the sport, his main rival was now Sebastian Vettel in his scarlet-red Ferrari. But this would spell the start of Hamilton’s most dominant period to date.

Three consecutive titles in 2017, last year and now this year have truly confirmed Hamilton’s status as not only one of F1’s greatest successes, but in the realm of sport as a whole – a driver who has transcended the profession he holds so dear.

And he’s not done yet. With rumours of a new contract taking him past 2021, Schumacher’s records are there for the taking.

Even when he calls time on racing, he’s set himself up with an incredibly lucrative brand with a hand in fashion, with Tommy Hilfiger and a long-rumoured music career also waiting in the wings.

For now, though, Hamilton is still making sporting history and stands on the verge of becoming the most successful driver Formula One has seen in its history.

in the form of his life and still improving, it’s not a reach to think that particular accolade could only be a year or two away.

That would certainly be some masterpiece.

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