Key races in Hamilton’s title-winning Formula One season

• CHINESE GRAND PRIX: After finishing second behind Sebastian Vettel at the season opener in Melbourne, it was important for Hamilton to bounce back and draw level in the championship to prevent the Ferrari man gaining the early momentum. He won from pole and set the fastest lap to make his point.
• SPANISH: This was another badly-needed victory for Hamilton, who had seen Vettel and his own Mercedes teammate Finn Valtteri Bottas win in Bahrain and Russia. It was an eventful contest with a wheel-banging incident in the pit lane and Hamilton recovering after losing pole position to claim a win that cut the German’s lead back to six points.
• CANADIAN: After another disappointment, at the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton bounced back again with a dominant performance to claim a fabulous pole, victory and fastest lap in thrilling fashion. Vettel struggled home fourth after an early collision, but still led the title race by 141 points to 129.
• SILVERSTONE: Having finished fifth and fourth in successive races, Hamilton needed a home win to re-boot his title challenge and he delivered with a record-breaking show. Once again, he claimed a magnificent pole position, led every lap and won, clocking fastest lap again on the way. He came home ahead of his Mercedes teammate Bottas as Vettel had a puncture in the closing laps and finished seventh. It was Hamilton’s fifth British win to equal the records of Alain Prost and Jim Clark ­— and it lifted him to within one point of Vettel in the title race.
• MONZA: On Ferrari’s home soil at Monza, this was the race that carried Hamilton into the lead in the championship as he led Bottas home in a crushing Mercedes one-two. It was an embarrassing weekend for Vettel and Ferrari, the German finishing a distant third, as the Briton took charge of the championship for the first time with 238 points to Vettel on 235. Hamilton’s pole was his record-breaking 69th and lifted him clear of Michael Schumacher’s total of 68.
• SINGAPORE: Probably the race that swung the championship most emphatically and surprisingly in Hamilton’s direction — the Englishman won comfortably to open up a 28-point lead on Vettel after the German had steered his Ferrari into a first lap collision with his own teammate Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
• JAPANESE: Having established a 34-point lead just a week earlier in Malaysia, where he finished second and Vettel fourth despite a 20-place grid penalty, Hamilton’s streak of good luck continued with another unexpectedly comfortable victory. Vettel retired after only four laps due to a spark plug failure and Hamilton had a 59-point lead as the F1 circus flew home from Asia. The title race was transformed.
• MEXICO: Hamilton wins a fourth world title despite finishing the Mexican Grand Prix in ninth place as Red Bull’s Verstappen took the race victory. It was an anti-climactic way for 32-year-old Hamilton to win the 2017 crown after a first-lap collision with Vettel’s Ferrari left him with a puncture and needing to pit for a new tyre. Vettel also had to pit for a new wing but the German’s slim hopes of keeping the title race alive were ended by his fourth-placed finish.