5 times Lewis Hamilton broke the 'F1 internet'

Lewis Hamilton is a global superstar now but all of this has come after years of representing himself in the best possible manner in the spotlight. The driver made his debut in 2007 and not many would have thought he would end up becoming the superstar that he is right now. The driver is on an entirely different level right now in terms of stardom and this has led to him producing some of the biggest moments in F1 where the fans had to leave everything, sit back, and take notice of what he was doing.

In a career that has spanned more than 15 years now, there have been quite a few moments when Lewis Hamilton broke the 'F1 internet' and everything became about him. In this feature, we will take a look at five such moments when Lewis made this happen.

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#1 Lewis Hamilton's first F1 title

The year was 2008, and after a rousing reception from the fans in his rookie season, Lewis was starting to face some backlash. Most of it was around the kind of mess he'd made of what was his second title battle. In his first season, Lewis almost won the title but fell short by a point.

In his second title battle, there was a battle between him and Felipe Massa as former contenders like Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen were just not in the picture. Lewis made far too many errors during the season and the title that could have been won easily had become a headache.

It all came down to the last race of the season as fate would have it, this came down to the last lap. When Lewis Hamilton did accomplish the win, the world erupted. F1 had its first black World Champion who was also the youngest to ever do it at the time. Britain had its first champion in a decade, and with that, Lewis Hamilton's stardom stepped up to another level.

#2 The move to Mercedes

This was a move that nobody expected and even after they became aware of it, they laughed their hearts out at it. Lewis Hamilton was part of McLaren in the first phase of his career but since his first title win in 2008, the team had been unable to be the benchmark. In 2012, the driver took a punt with Mercedes, a relatively new team at the time, and decided to give it a shot.

The move was almost mocked by many in the paddock as the team had only one win against its name in its three years of existence. The move was a seismic moment in F1 and as it turned out, it was a masterstroke.

#3 Taking a stand in the global BLM movement

The year 2020 was a tumultuous one for the world. The world was engulfed in the pandemic, and during this time, the 'Black Lives Matter' movement gained momentum. Lewis took the initiative and became the leading proponent of BLM in F1.

The Mercedes was painted black in tribute to the movement and Lewis became the symbol for it in a year when the world was already reeling from a pandemic. In terms of global recognition, this took Lewis Hamilton to a completely different level from everyone else.

#4 Winning a 7th world title

To add to the fame, it truly helps if the rockstar driver is also the most successful in F1 history. This was Lewis Hamilton in 2020 when he won his 7th world title on a gloomy day in Turkey. This was a 'breaking the glass ceiling' moment in F1 as the driver defied the odds in more ways than one to become this icon of the sport and an inspiration for many.

#5 The move to Ferrari

Finally, the latest move that sent shock waves across the sport was Lewis Hamilton switching teams and moving to Ferrari. The Italian team is still the most iconic in F1.

The abruptness of the decision and how quickly everything happened surprised everyone but what was also quite shocking was how the world stopped to this major news and how everyone saw the entire saga unfold.