It’s finally happened. After a 41-race winless streak, Sir Lewis Hamilton achieved what even he’s admitted he doubted would ever come: his 106th Formula 1 win. But not just any win, his first Grand Prix with Scuderia Ferrari.
It’s no surprise how the world has reacted to it, but even more so, how his peers have reacted to the Brit’s dominant win at yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix. It’s not unusual for drivers to walk up to the race winner and give them a pat on the back, a fist bump, or maybe even a hug if they’re somewhat friends. For Hamilton’s latest win, however, fellow drivers took to social media to comment on F1’s posts, mostly by re-sharing or posting their own photos of the seven-time world champion, adding a congratulatory message. And that was just the public-facing message—I’m sure there was a ton more behind the scenes.
It almost feels as if the guy had won the world championship instead of a random GP.
George Russell, who finished on the podium with Hamilton and Lando Norris, was the first one to congratulate him, while making a little innocent dig at the Ferrari driver’s age.
“Huge congrats to this guy because I know how hard he works,” said Russell. “We spent a lot of years together at Mercedes, so I’m really pleased to see him back to the Lewis I remember when I was growing up watching Formula 1.”
Norris, who rounded up the all-British podium, also chimed in, as well as Kimi Antonelli, Nico Hulkenberg, Max Verstappen, and, of course, his teammate Charles Leclerc, who did not finish the race due to a mechanical failure.
“Very happy for him, nice to see him on the podium. Nice to see it was an all-British podium since 1968. A cool podium to be up there with George and Lewis, mainly Lewis because he’s just a good guy to be up there with and just a cool experience,” said Norris.
That’s not the biggest takeaway here, though it is linked to it. The big deal here is that these displays of appreciation signal a bigger, more important consequence of Hamilton’s victory. See, like most sports, F1 thrives on drama, love, and hate. It relies on headlines featuring one of these three angles to reach a wider audience, increase viewership, and ultimately generate more revenue.
It’s no surprise that when the sport has a hero versus villain moment, more people than usual tune in to watch F1. Hamilton versus Verstappen back in 2001. Later on, Verstappen and Russell got into a war of words worthy of a high school hallway. Then there was Verstappen clawing back a dozen points to almost steal Norris’ championship at the end of last season. Likewise, people tune in almost just as much to watch the downfall of the season’s protagonist, as has been the case this year with Red Bull and McLaren, while simultaneously enjoying the rise of a new superstar (Antonelli).
It’s no surprise that F1 and its affiliated partners are pushing the hell out of Hamilton’s first win with Ferrari—heck, his first one since he left Mercedes, the team that practically made him who he is today. It’s not just good for the sport; it’s borderline necessary. As much as I love Antonelli winning, in order for the championship not to grow stale so early on in the year, F1 needed a different winner, and who better than the guy who a lot of people thought would never win again?
Is it too early to think about Hamilton earning the eighth world championship that was taken away from him five years ago? Even with this boost of luck being attributed to his partner, Kim Kardashian? Most definitely. Regardless, his climbing to the top step of the podium will undoubtedly go down as a key moment in F1 history and make for a great sporting story. I just hope he can get a few more this year and not let Mercedes and Antonelli run away with the championship.
Which other driver should join him?