Lewis Hamilton will become the first driver to record over 100 Formula 1 victories, according to Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, after Michael Schumacher’s benchmark was broken in Portugal.
Hamilton triumphed upon Formula 1’s first visit to Portimao and in doing so logged victory number 92, surpassing the 91 achieved by Schumacher.
Five rounds remain in the 2020 campaign while Hamilton is expected to stay with Mercedes for another contract.
“Lewis says he keeps pushing because he wants to set it very high, because… yeah, I have to work hard to try to get there,” joked Verstappen.
“It’s amazing. What can you say? It’s just incredible. An incredible achievement. 92 victories and I don’t think it stops there. It will go well over 100.
“He’s pushing me to go until I’m 40 years old, or something. It’s a good motivation as well. Nah, anyway, it’s incredible.
“It looks like he’s also going for his seven world titles, which is very impressive.
“Everybody knows he’s very quick but what has also been a very strong point is that he’s also very consistent and very rarely makes a mistake and that’s why I think also he got to this number so quick.”
Hamilton’s long-time rival Vettel also praised the World Champion’s achievements.
“I think he deserves every single victory he had,” he said.
“I think the number speaks for itself, and I’m sure he’ll hit 100. I texted him before the race to get 92 and he did, so I’m sure he’ll continue to get even more, so I don’t think you can praise him enough.”
Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who finished second, added: “I want to say massive congrats to Lewis for this amazing achievement and being part of motorsport history, mate.
“Many people thought it’s never possible to break the record but that itself is a mistake and I’m sure Lewis always believed it is possible and he’ll just keep going. So, really, hat’s off. Big respect.”
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