Lewis Hamilton broke two more Formula 1 records with impressive Bahrain GP drive

In a year where Mercedes look unlikely to be leading the standings, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton continues to break records and submits his name repeatedly into the history books.

Yet, the 2022 season could be a fight back to winning ways for both Hamilton and fellow compatriot George Russell.

The new era of regulations hasn’t favoured Mercedes, with them struggling from ‘porpoising,’ a problem created by downforce pulling the car to the ground and air flow creating a bumping motion.

The Brackley-based team have been tweaking their car throughout testing and practice, but when asked on his ability to compete for the title, Hamilton admitted: “Obviously it’s a little bit too early to have those kinds of thoughts. But at the moment, I don’t think we’ll be competing for wins.

“But there is a potential within our car to get us there. We have just got to be able to extract it and fix some of the problems, which is what we’re working on.”

Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix saw Hamilton’s prediction come true.

Mercedes seemed to sit at the top of the midfield and not in a position to directly fight for race wins. The result saw Ferrari come out victors, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz earning a 1-2 after a difficult previous two years. Meanwhile, world champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez were forced to retire, marking a terrible weekend for Red Bull. 

Mercedes, who were originally on the back foot, climbed onto the podium with Hamilton finishing in third and Russell finishing close behind on his Mercedes debut in fourth.

With this result, Hamilton broke a further two F1 records. One for being on the podium for 16 years in a row, previously held by Michael Schumacher, as well as being the only driver