The Mercedes driver returned to the podium for the first time this season in Spain. For the 198th time after 342 attempts, Lewis Hamilton stood on the Formula 1 podium with 39th place in his career. But this is Hamilton’s first podium at a Grand Prix since the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, some 13 races ago – not counting the second place he took in the ’24 China sprint as they do not count towards the official podium record.
It was the longest run of Hamilton’s career without a visit to the forum, with his failure to secure third place in Canada in the previous race effectively breaking his own record of 11 set between the Brazilian in 2008 (yes, that race ) and the 2009 Hungarian Grands Prix.
In claiming podium number 198, Hamilton also extended his record to 18 consecutive seasons with podiums, dating back to his debut at the 2007 Australian GP, where he finished third for McLaren.
He has held that record since adding a third place at the 2022 season opener in Bahrain, eclipsing Michael Schumacher’s record of 15 consecutive years as he begins his 16th season. In case you were wondering, Hamilton also set an all-time record with 56 second-place finishes to his name, along with 103 wins. But he doesn’t hold the record for most P3 finishes in F1, which belongs to 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen with 45th, just six points ahead of Hamilton, whose next podium will be his 150th. his for Mercedes.
