Ranking every Lewis Hamilton season

It's time to rank every Lewis Hamilton season. Obviously he is my favourite driver so it's gonna be tough to remain unbiased but we will try. I would also love to do this for other drivers but I'll start with Lewis because obviously I know his seasons the best. (Note - not ranking 2025 yet obviously)

18. 2024

I hate ranking this season so low because obviously it has one of my favourite Lewis moments (2024 British GP) but it was a pretty bad season. We had to wait 9 races for a podium (seems familiar these days) and only 5 podium finishes is his joint lowest. Plus he got beaten by Russell and if we're being honest Russell deserved that win in Belgium too (although we're still claiming it). But obviously there's still great moments like in every Lewis season. Like Silverstone and the Abu Dhabi drive.

17. 2023

This is such a weird season to rank. He came third but had less podiums and points than the previous year? (I guess Max winning all but like 3 races will do that). His pole lap in Hungary was also really impressive. But still lacked pace really. Only helped here by Russell having a stinky season. This made Lewis look much better.

16. 2013

His first season with Mercedes was... alright. One win in Hungary was very cool but only 5 podiums throughout the season was disappointing. The car had awesome one lap pace but just fell away in race conditions. Lewis had 5 poles this season and Mercedes had 8 in total but they just couldn't really convert them to proper wins. And 2nd half of the season Lewis was very stinky. I know they were obviously focusing on 2014 but I had to rank it low still. I think people still thought he made a mistake leaving McLaren here!

15. 2022

Yeah this was also another disappointing season. His pace was better than 2024 though and 9 podiums is much better. Obviously what happened in 2021 clearly demotivated him here and his driving style has never suited these modern cars. But I think this is still his best GE-era season, even if he only finished P6 in the standings.

14. 2011

This season is honestly still kinda underrated but still not great. 3 wins and 6 podiums is decent (China 2011 is a great race BTW to rewatch) but he got beaten quite badly by Jenson. He had a few personal issues and clearly lacked a bit of motivation here, but it was still a serviceable season. But too many clashes with Massa (his post race interview after Monaco was hilarious) and just an overall lack of pace/consistency compared to his teammate means this is low on the rankings. But his win in Germany was awesome.

13. 2009

2nd half of the season would have put this very high on the list. But the 1st half was genuinely the worst I've ever seen Lewis, and the worst car he's ever driven. That McLaren was literally a backmarker, 8th and 9th on pace in some races! But 2 wins in that car was a MIRACLE and 5 podiums is decent. This season might seem high on hindsight but trust me if you watch it you'll understand me. It's similar to Alonso's 2009 in this respect. Not great by their standards but still amazing. Also probably lost a win in Abu Dhabi because of McLaren unreliability (a common theme to come)

12. 2010

Every season from here on out is good. (The standards this man sets!). It's crazy how he almost won the championship this year. If he didn't have a tyre failure in Spain... or gearbox failure in Hungary too. But 3 wins and 9 podiums especially in such a close title fight is a great return in a car that honestly wasn't that great. But the mistakes/collisions in Italy and Singapore cost this season a higher place.

11. 2008

I know this is controversial because it's obviously his first title win and in such dramatic circumstances. But this was such a messy championship fight between Hamilton and Massa. It felt like both drivers were trying to lose it at some point. However 5 wins and 10 podiums is brilliant stuff and it has the greatest win in Lewis's career (and F1 history...?) at Silverstone 2008. Winning by over 1 minute in the wet at your home race while your main championship rival is spinning 4 times in 12th is so much aura. He was robbed of a win in Belgium (not the first time a win would be robbed) and he delivered composed performances in crazy races like Australia (7 finishers!) and Germany.

10. 2012

Man I could talk about this season so much. 4 wins and 7 podiums seems lackluster compared to some of the other seasons already mentioned. But I estimate around 80 points were lost through McLaren unreliability and Maldonado being Maldonado. A great win in a crazy race in Canada, his first Monza win, and the race at COTA was amazing. And obviously the two wins in Singapore and Abu Dhabi robbed by the horrendous McLaren gearbox and reliability. In crazy seasons like this one all you need is a small bit of luck and things could have changed massively. His pace was really consistent throughout the year, much like Vettel's and Alonso's. A really underrated Lewis season and one that should have brought more.

9. 2017

Another title winning season here. 9 wins and 13 podiums. It's getting really hard now to find things wrong with his seasons! Vettel did a great job putting him on the backfoot here but Mercedes always became cracked in the second half of the season. His win at Singapore (one of Vettel's best tracks) was supreme and he kept a cool head in the Spanish GP (another close win). Just a composed Lewis season, but not like on his superhuman level.

8. 2019

This looked like it was gonna be one of those Schumacher-esque dominant seasons for Lewis. 11 wins and 17 podiums again, but the first 8 races... 6 wins and 2 P2's was completely crazy. People were talking like F1 was dead! Obviously Red Bull and Ferrari came back but this was still a really good season. Not much to really say here - kind of Lewis's most forgettable championship? (IMO)

7. 2018

Now we get to the seasons with massive success totals. Obviously a championship winning season, with 11 wins and 17 podiums. 2018 Germany was a crazy race - win from 14th on the grid at your championship rival's home race! And that pole lap in Singapore... chills. Ferrari gave it a good go but once again Lewis was just supreme this season. An 8 race stretch of either finishing P1 or P2 was also incredibly impressive.

6. 2016

One of my favourite ever F1 seasons. The Hamilton - Rosberg rivalry was epic. And I always gives props to Nico for this season, he drove like a man possessed. But the crazy thing was that Lewis was still so close to winning. He didn't win until Monaco (and even then Ricciardo really deserved that) but when he locked in he locked in majorly! 10 wins and 17 podiums is of course great, but even more so in the context of such a close and intense title fight with your teammate and former best friend! The engine failure while in the lead of the Malaysian GP still kills me... he was so close. But the last 4 races, 4 poles, 4 wins in such a intense fight were immense. Maybe I placed this too high, but Lewis was really good this year. (and who doesn't love the Spain crash and the Austria collision?). Also lowkey miss villain era Lewis this year.

5. 2021

I still can't rewatch this season, the pain is immesurable. But still a fantastic Lewis season. The fight between him and Max was so intense it was crazy! 8 wins and 17 podiums especially in a crazy close season was very good (and let's be real rn it was 9 wins). The drive in Brazil is probably his best performance of all time - sprint and actual race. And the Saudi race was nuts also - I could barely watch the TV! But he kept his cool and won a clutch race. Russia and Bahrain were also composed performances and wins under immense pressure. Sadly the tyre failure at Baku also cost him, and Monaco was a really terrible performance. But overall still a great season that really should have been the 8th (can you tell I'm still mad)

4. 2015

This might be his best season but it's kind of personal preference now, they're too close to call. 10 wins and 17 podiums was immense, but it was the way he just dominated Rosberg (who he had a very close title fight with the season before) that was amazing. This made Nico lock in for 2016, but he really destroyed him here. His Monza win was just pure dominance and the US Grand Prix was also a really fun win. Overall just prime Mercedes Lewis cooking here. 

3. 2007

What a season from Rookie Lewis. 2nd in the championship with 4 wins and 12 podiums is less than some of the other entries. But it's the context that matters. A rookie coming against the best driver in F1 at the time Fernando Alonso, a reigning 2 time world champion? And he only came a handful of points away from winning the championship. 9 podium finishes in his first nine races as a Formula One driver is truly insane, and as a rookie too? His win at Canada was legendary, and so was his masterclass at Fuji. It was just China... it still brings a tear to the eye. But this is clearly the best rookie season in F1 history (surely?)

2. 2014

An amazing amazing season to bring his first title with Mercedes. 11 wins and 16 podiums is crazy, and he didn't finish a race off the podium. And it was in another intense title fight with Rosberg. The Bahrain win is one of my favourite F1 races to rewatch (seriously if you haven't seen what are you doing?) and 5 wins in a row from Monza to COTA really killed Rosberg. Just Lewis at the peak of his powers here. Amazingly dominant when the car wasn't dying on him. Prime Lewis began again here.

1. 2020

The last championship winning season and easily the best car - driver combo since 2004. 11 wins and 14 podiums is amazingly dominant, but even more so in a season that was shortened to 17 races by COVID! And Lewis even missed a race because of the virus (shoutout Russell in Sakhir 2020 though). But seriously this was the perfect combo - Lewis in the black W11 does dangerous things to me. His win while mid tyre failure at Silverstone was one of my favourite Lewis memories and the win in Turkey might be my favourite win. Winning by half a minute in those changeable conditions to equal Michael's record of WDC's was just momentous.