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2008 VS 2019: The years Hamilton won his first and most recent World Championships
Tuesday marks one year to the day since Lewis Hamilton secured his sixth Formula 1 World Championship, whilst he celebrated 11 years since his first title just yesterday. But how do his first and sixth title wins compare and what was going on in the world?
2008: Hamilton's first World Championship
2008 was Hamilton's second season in the pinnacle of motorsport, having come so close to the title in his debut season where he just missed out to Kimi Raikkonen. Felipe Massa lined up alongside the Finn at Ferrari and they were set to be Hamilton's biggest rivals in the title race.
Hamilton started the season in style, picking up an opening race win at Albert Park as he won the Australian Grand Prix from pole. Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg joined the young Brit on the podium whilst the Ferrari pair of Raikkonen and Massa could only manage P8 and retirement respectively. However, Ferrari seized the initiative, winning the next four races in Malaysia, Spain, Bahrain and Turkey, both drivers winning twice, before Hamilton took to the top step in Monaco.
As the season went on it became clear it was going to be between Hamilton and Massa for the title. The pair reeled off back to back wins, Hamilton at Silverstone and in Germany and then Massa in Valencia and Belgium, separated only by a Heikki Kovalainen victory at the Hungaroring.
At the next three races, the pair only managed one podium between them as Hamilton finished third in Singapore, but there was a first ever victory for a certain Sebastian Vettel ...
The season came to a head in the final two races of the season. Hamilton secured his first win since the German Grand Prix as he finished first at the Chinese Grand Prix with Massa in P2. That meant, the then McLaren driver went into the final race of the season in Brazil, with a seven-point lead over Massa. Hamilton would need to finish fifth ...
Rain prior to the race meant lights out was delayed, but when racing got underway Massa established a lead and was doing all he could to give himself a chance. As lap after lap ticked by, Hamilton was holding onto fifth place despite Sebastian Vettel hunting down the McLaren in his Toro Rosso. The German eventually overtook Hamilton on lap 69 and would go on to finish fourth, but more importantly, Hamilton was in sixth and the title was heading to Massa.
Massa crossed the line and had done all he could, but going into the final corner Hamilton passed Timo Glock who was the only front runner not on intermediate tires, and vitally earned him the fifth-place finish to secure him his first-ever World Championship !
How did the world look in 2008?
It is fair to say the world was a very different place when Hamilton secured his first World Championship in 2008. Two days after the British driver secured the title, Barack Obama was elected as President of the United States, beating John McCain. He won the Electoral College and the popular vote by a sizable margin making him the first black president of the USA. In the UK, Gordan Brown was Prime Minister and Boris Johnson became Mayor of London, beating Ken Livingstone.
In sport, Manchester United retained the Premier League and became champions of Europe in an all English affair in Moscow. United beat Chelsea on penalties after Edwin van De Sar saved Nicholas Anelka's penalty. Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics, as Great Britain finished fourth in the medal table, Sir Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington, and Jason Kenny just a few of the athletes to enjoy gold medal success. Meanwhile, Spain won the European Championships, hosted by Austria and Switzerland, a Fernando Torres goal enough to beat Germany, 1-0 in the final.
2019: Hamilton's sixth World Championship
Hamilton went into the 2019 season having won the last two titles and was the strong favorite to make it three in a row. However, it was Valtteri Bottas who made a statement of intent in Australia, winning from second on the grid after overtaking Hamilton on the opening lap. Despite the early setback, Hamilton responded in style, securing an unlikely win in Bahrain, as Charles Leclerc, in just his second race for Ferrari suffered an engine issue allowing Hamilton and Bottas to pass him for a Mercedes one-two. Hamilton followed it up with a win in China before Bottas, regained the lead, winning in Azerbaijan.
However, Hamilton strung together a run of form that will go down in Formula 1 history as one of the most decisive. Between the fifth race of the season in Spain and the 12th in Hungary, Hamilton won five of the next seven races. This run included a dramatic win in Monaco on the weekend Formula 1 remembered the life of Niki Lauda, a fortunate win in Canada after Sebastian Vettel received a penalty, and a not so impressive performance in Germany. The Brit finished ninth in chaotic conditions as the rain poured at Hockenheim, but was straight back to it in Hungary, performing a late overtake on Verstappen for the win.
This run cemented Hamilton's place at the top of the Drivers' Championship. A spell of three races without a win was ended in Russia, as he secured the fastest lap bonus point. The Japanese Grand Prix weekend was a topsy-turvey one as Typhoon Hagibis meant Sunday was a bumper day, with qualifying taking place just hours before the race. Bottas came out on top at Suzuka, before Hamilton took the win in Mexico.
Bottas had pushed Hamilton as far as he could but it was a matter of time before Hamilton secured title number six, and that came at the US Grand Prix. Hamilton would win the title if Bottas failed to outscore him by 22 points. As Massa did 11 years prior, Bottas did all he could by winning the race, but Hamilton finished second, saved by a yellow flag with Max Verstappen on the charge. It was Hamilton's sixth Drivers' Championship, fifth with Mercedes and third consecutive title.
The former-McLaren driver would finish seventh in Brazil after a late collision with Alex Albon but would finish the season in style, taking a clean sweep in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton ended the season with 413 points, 87 more than Bottas, and 135 more than the nearest rival team in the form of Max Verstappen.
What was going on in the world in 2019?
2019 offered a more familiar scene, Donald Trump was in his third year as President of the United States having won the 2016 election. On home shores, it was Britain's turn to host an election as just a few weeks after Hamilton's win in Abu Dhabi, Boris Johnson, once mayor of London, won a majority in a general election.
As Manchester United did in '08, Manchester City defended the Premier League, whilst Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool became champions of Europe in May of 2019. They were clear at the top of the 2019/20 Premier League by the time Hamilton was crowned champion. The day before Hamilton secured his sixth title in Austin, England were beaten by South Africa in the rugby World Cup final, 12-32 the final score in favor of the Springboks.
And finally, the coronavirus was hardly even knowledge when the season came to an end in December ...
