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Lewis Hamilton has secured his fourth drivers' world championship, setting a new record for the most titles by a British driver.
The Stevenage racer claimed his first title in just his second season, 2008, driving for McLaren-Mercedes. After moving to Mercedes-AMG, Hamilton took back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015, and has now added a fourth championship to that tally.
Click through the pictures to look at some of the most memorable races from Hamilton's 11-year F1 career.- Slide of
2007 Australian Grand Prix
Hamilton qualified his McLaren-Mercedes fourth for his first grand prix, then made a stellar start to jump past double world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Alonso eventually jump Hamilton during the pit stops to finish second behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, but third place on his debut marked the Brit out as a major talent. - Slide of
2007 Canadian Grand Prix
After several near-misses, Hamilton's first victory came in his sixth race, the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton started the race on pole position for the first time, and held his nerve in a dramatic race disrupted by four safety car periods to take glory.
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2007 Chinese Grand Prix
After a strong run of form mid-season, Hamilton entered the penultimate race of the year with a 12-point lead over team-mate Alonso, with Raikkonen 17 points adrift. But it all went wrong in China: his team left him out on worn wet tyres on a drying track and, when he came into the pits, he slid into the gravel and out of the race.
Raikkonen won that race, and then snatched the title in Brazil when Hamilton was slowed by a mysterious mechanical problem. - Slide of
2008 British Grand Prix
Hamilton claimed the first of his five British Grand Prix victories so far with a dominating drive in treacherous wet conditions at Silverstone in 2008. He finished more than a minute clear of his nearest rival, BMW's Nick Heidfeld.
How tough were conditions? Hamilton's main title rival, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, spun five times on his way to 13th place... - Slide of
2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
The title fight between Hamilton and Massa went down to the final race of the season in Brazil, and was decided in hugely dramatic fashion. Even if Massa won his home event, Hamilton 'only' needed to finish fifth to take the title, but what seemed a simple task was complicated by a late-race rain shower.
Having slid off the track and dropped down the order, Hamilton surged past Toyota's Timo Glock in the run to the line to snatch fifth, denying race winner Massa – whose family were already celebrating in the pits, thinking he was champion – the title. - Slide of
2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
By winning the title in his second season at the age of 23 years and 300 days, Hamilton became the youngest champion in F1 history. His record has since been eclipsed by Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 years and 134 days when he wrapped up his first title for Red Bull in 2010.
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2009 Singapore Grand Prix
Hamilton's title defence was hamstrung by a poor McLaren, with the team caught out by major changes to the technical regulations and left far behind rivals Brawn GP and Red Bull. Despite this, Hamilton dragged his car to two race wins, including a dominant victory in Singapore.
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2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Hamilton's fortunes picked up in the 2010 season, and after three wins headed to the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix battling Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull duo Vettel and Mark Webber for the title. Hamilton battled hard in the race, but could only finish second behind Vettel, who claimed his first title.
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2011 German Grand Prix
Red Bull was the team to beat in 2011. While Vettel romped to his second title Hamilton battled his way to three race wins, in China, Germany (pictured) and Abu Dhabi. Notably, Hamilton was outscored by team-mate Jenson Button, the first time in his career that he had been beaten over the course of a year by a team-mate.
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2012 Canadian Grand Prix
The 2012 season started in remarkably open fashion, with seven different drivers winning the first seven races – Hamilton became the seventh to do so in that year's Canadian Grand Prix. That was the first of four wins that year, but it was left to Vettel (Red Bull) and Alonso (Ferrari) to battle for the title.
The season would prove to be Hamilton's last at McLaren-Mercedes, with the Brit signing to drive for the works Mercedes-AMG outfit from 2013 onwards. - Slide of
2013 British Grand Prix
Hamilton looked set to take his second British GP success – and first for Mercedes – at Silverstone, but he was one of a spate of drivers to suffer punctures during the race. Despite the tyre failure, Hamilton battled back through the order to take fourth.
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2013 Hungarian Grand Prix
Hamilton finally clinched his first win for Mercedes in Hungary, making him the first British racer to win in a works Silver Arrows since Stirling Moss in the 1955 British Grand Prix.
That victory would be Hamilton's sole success of the season, making 2013 the least successful year of his career so far. - Slide of
2014 Australian Grand Prix
Hamilton's switch to Mercedes was, in part, because new technical rules were coming for the 2014 season, with the sport switching to 1.6-litre turbocharged engines. Mercedes developed the dominant powerplant, and Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg duly dominated the season.
Hamilton's year didn't get off to the best start though: he started from pole but was forced to retire with a mechanical issue while Rosberg won. - Slide of
2014 Belgian Grand Prix
The rivalry between Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Rosberg had been developing through the year, but it really kicked off when they collided in the Belgian Grand Prix. The incident punctured Hamilton's tyre and forced him to retire, while Rosberg won despite a damaged front wing.
It wasn't all good news for the German racer though: Mercedes held him responsible for the contact. It also seemed to fire Hamilton up: he won the next five races in a row... - Slide of
2014 United States Grand Prix
Hamilton's tenth victory of the 2014 season came at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (hence the Stetson). Colossally, the victory was the 32nd of his career, moving him ahead of Nigel Mansell to set a new record for British drivers.
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2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The title fight between Hamilton and Rosberg went down to the final race in Abu Dhabi, partially because F1 bosses had decided to award double points for the last race of the season (an idea quickly abandoned). Hamilton dominated the race to wrap up his second title, while Rosberg was slowed by a mechanical issue.
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2015 Japanese Grand Prix
Mercedes once again had the dominant package in 2015, with Hamilton and Rosberg again battling for the title. Hamilton took the 41st victory of his career in Japan, matching the total set by his idol Ayrton Senna.
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2015 United States Grand Prix
Hamilton had an edge over Rosberg in 2015, and wrapped up the title with three rounds remaining with victory in the United States. Rosberg made him work for it though: the pair battled hard early on, and the German only ceded the lead after running wide late in the race.
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2015 United States Grand Prix
Hamilton's third championship matched Jackie Stewart's mark for the most by a British racer.
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2016 Spanish Grand Prix
Hamilton and Rosberg came to blows again at Barcelona, with a clash early in the race that caused both to retire, and left Mercedes management fuming.
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2016 United States Grand Prix
Hamilton notched up another milestone at the Circuit of the Americas in 2016, securing his 50th career victory at one of his favourite circuits.
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2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
For the second time in three years, the title battle between Hamilton and Rosberg went down to the final race in Abu Dhabi. This time Hamilton entered the race behind his team-mate in the points, and knew even if he won Rosberg could afford to finish second and claim the title.
Hamilton found himself leading Rosberg in the race, and tried to back the German into the chasing pack. But it was to no avail: while the Brit stood on the top step of the podium, Rosberg claimed the ultimate prize – and then promptly retired. - Slide of
2017 Australian Grand Prix
If Hamilton thought Rosberg's retirement would make his life easier, he received a wake-up call at the Australian Grand Prix. He took pole for the race, but Sebastian Vettel (now at Ferrari) vaulted him during the pit stops to take victory and signal that, after three years of dominance, Mercedes now had a rival team to truly worry about.
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2017 British Grand Prix
Hamilton dominated the British Grand Prix, starting from pole, leading every lap and setting the fastest lap. It was his fifth home victory, matching Jim Clark for the most by a Brit in the event.
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2017 Belgian Grand Prix
Hamilton secured his 58th victory in his milestone 200th race, although Vettel made him work hard for it.
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2017 Italian Grand Prix
Hamilton's next F1 milestone came in qualifying at Monza – he qualified on pole for the 69th time, surpassing the all-time record set by seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. The following day he won the race, moving into the points lead.
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2017 Singapore Grand Prix
The start of the Singapore race was where Vettel's title challenge really began to unravel. At a circuit that should have suited his Ferrari, the German was involve in a clash with Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen that eventually forced all three to retire.
Hamilton (top left in picture), who had been off the pace in qualifying and expected to struggle, secured an unlikely victory and pulled clear in the title battle. - Slide of
2017 Mexican Grand Prix
Hamilton headed into the Mexican Grand Prix needing just a fifth place finish to clinch the title. But his task was complicated after a dramatic start. From pole, title rival Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's Max Verstappen clashed in the first turn. Hamilton got a run on Vettel, but the German clipped Hamilton's rear tyre, puncturing it.
Hamilton was forced to pit, and had to slowly work his way up the order. Despite only finishing ninth, he clinched the title because Vettel, who was also forced to stop, could only recover to fourth - he had to finish second to keep his title hopes alive.
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