By setting six fastest race laps in 2019, Lewis Hamilton won the DHL Fastest Lap Award to further cement his position as the leading and dominating force in the current hybrid era of the sport.

Beside the success of the reigning champion, the thrill of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship was emphasized by the sheer speed of racing cars which enabled drivers to reach incredible speeds both in qualifying and race runs. New lap records were set in nine races including Azerbaijan, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Hungary, Russia, Japan, USA and Abu Dhabi.

On his way to the victory on home turf, Lewis Hamilton was not afraid of going for the fastest lap at the end of the British Grand Prix. His lap time of 1m27.369 was not only the fastest lap of the 2019 race at Silverstone, but it became the fastest ever race lap around the historic circuit. When reflecting on the battle for the bonus point for the fastest race lap, the Briton picked out his home race as the most memorable. „I can remember Silverstone, on older tyres and really pushing to the limit right before the chequered flag, in front of my home fans,” he said.

Hamilton with the most fastest laps

At the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, world champion Lewis Hamilton emphasized his Formula 1 dominance by clocking a sixth DHL Fastest Lap of the 2019 season. The Briton set the fastest race lap on six occasions which lifted him above his closest rival Charles Leclerc who recorded four fastest laps in total in his debut year for Ferrari. Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas were tied on this ranking with both setting three fastest laps apiece. Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel are the next drivers on this list with two best race laps to their names. The title of the most surprising name belongs to Kevin Magnussen who scored one fastest race lap.

Since its introduction in 2007, the DHL Fastest Lap Award was won by seven different drivers including Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas. With his 2019 win, Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most DHL Fastest Lap Awards. The Briton is now clear of Vettel, who was previously level with him on three.

When it comes to the teams, Mercedes unsurprisingly produced a masterful performance in terms of fastest racing laps. The Anglo-German squad recorded a total of nine fastest laps in 2019 thanks to Lewis Hamilton (6) and Valtteri Bottas (3). Just as in the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari and Red Bull were closely matched with the Italians taking six fastest laps, one more than the Anglo-Austrian outfit.

Haas was the only team apart from the top three squads to register a fastest lap thanks to a very late effort from Kevin Magnussen who set the best lap time in the dying minutes of the Singapore Grand Prix on much fresher tyres than the leading drivers.