Lewis Hamilton still needs to make up 50 points to catch Kimi Antonelli in the lead of Formula 1 in 2026, but a specific record offers hope to the Brit before the season returns after the August break.
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The deficit is considerable, especially given Mercedes’ superior performance in the first half of the championship. Still, Hamilton has already managed to turn around similar disadvantages after the break, in title-winning campaigns.
In 2017, for example, the seven-time champion reached the mid-year break in second place, 14 points behind Sebastian Vettel. After the Hungarian GP, the Ferrari driver had 202 points, against Hamilton’s 188, who had finished the race in fourth.
The reaction came right after activities resumed. Hamilton won five of the next six races, in Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Japan, and the USA, and managed to completely reverse the situation in the championship. The advantage built later allowed the Brit to secure his fourth title at the Mexican GP, with two rounds still remaining.
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The precedent also appears in the 2014 season. That year, Hamilton reached the break in second place, 11 points behind his Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, after the German reached 202 points against the Brit’s 191 following the Hungarian GP.
Hamilton began to reduce the gap as soon as the season resumed. Despite retiring from the Belgian GP after contact with Rosberg, the Brit responded with five consecutive wins, in Italy, Singapore, Japan, Russia, and the United States, turning the disadvantage into a lead.
The 2014 battle remained open until the last round in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton arrived at the decisive race 17 points ahead of Rosberg and secured the title with the win, while a technical problem took the German out of contention. It was the Brit’s second F1 championship, seven years after his first title, won with McLaren.
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