Sir LCD Hamilton
During my younger days, one of the quiz questions used to be, “Who is the only Formula One driver who has won the world championship twice?” The answer was Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian driver had won the world championship in 1988 and again in 1990. In fact, Senna won the world championship again in 1991, but the Senna story had a sad end when on 1 May 1994, the great driver had a fatal crash at the San Marino Grand Prix.
In later years, the absurdity of the quiz question was established by two drivers. First it was the German driver Michael Schumacher who won the World Championship seven times, followed by the British driver Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton who, too, equalled Schumacher’s record. The end of the Ayrton Senna era saw the rise of Michael Schumacher, who was the Formula 1 World Champion in 1994 and 1995 and then for five consecutive years from 2000 to 2004.
Lewis Hamilton won the World Drivers’ Championship title in 2008, 2014, 2015 and then for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020. He was tipped to win the title for a record eighth time in 2021, but if reports are to be believed, the ultimate winner, the Dutchman, Max Verstappen, was given an unfair advantage which robbed the deserving Hamilton of wresting an eighth title.
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Gp Capt Achchyut Kumar has been associated with The Teenager Today for more than 50 years as a reader and contributor on varied topics. Having worked in the Indian Air Force and with Forbes & Company Limited, he is now a lawyer in Nainital High Court.