Lewis Hamilton, the greatest Black auto racing driver in history, holds seven Formula 1 drivers’ titles. The Englishman also owns the records for most wins, pole positions and podiums in F1 history.
He added to his podium record by finishing third in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday. The race was held in that nation because of Middle East tensions as the conflict with Iran drags on.
Hamilton finished behind Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who recorded his first win of the season, and points leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.
While Hamilton has failed to reach the heights of his past success with McLaren and Mercedes, he is making steady progress under the red banner of Ferrari.
His latest race began with disaster. Hamilton started second, but an early gamble on slick tires while the track remained wet sent him tumbling down the field.
Hamilton was also among several drivers affected by a software problem during the chaotic, rain-soaked start. But he persevered and closed the race in third.
“My heart sank,” Hamilton said postrace about his early tire predicament.
“I was kind of like, ‘That’s the race over’. But I just didn’t give up. I definitely didn’t expect to get back to P3. It’s crazy to think we were over a minute down.”
With a victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, two runner-up finishes (Canada and Monaco), three thirds (China, Britain and Bahrain) and completion of 15 of 16 races, Hamilton is third in drivers’ points with 214.
He trails Mercedes drivers Antonelli (320 points) and George Russell (236 points).
Hamilton’s effort on Sunday earned him 15 valuable points.
“For us to get back to the podium, I never thought that that was going to be the case,” Hamilton said. “I’m really, really grateful that we managed to get back here.”
While Antonelli should cruise to his first drivers’ title, Hamilton is within striking distance of Russell with seven races remaining in the F1 season.
Two of the races are in America: the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 25 and the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 21.
The F1 circuit moves to the Singapore Grand Prix on Oct. 11.