By Matt Maltby, MIRROR
From the moment he breezed off the line from pole at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, there was no stopping the Briton from romping to his 88th triumph.
The Mercedes star led every lap and took the chequered flag a mighty 24.1 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen, with Valtteri Bottas in third.
He even lapped the entire field up to third and this lights-to-flag precession saw him move to a 37-point lead over Red Bull’s Verstappen in the title standings.
A seventh world championship is now in his sights, which will draw him level with Michael Schumacher at the top of F1’s record books.
And Hamilton is now also just four wins away from usurping the Ferrari great as F1’s most successful race winner.
It’s now a matter of when, and not if, the six-time champ achieves that extraordinary feat. He could match the German at Ferrari’s 1,000th Grand Prix in Mugello next month.
The 35-year-old has plenty of F1 records already, including the most pole positions, and he clinched another on Sunday as his rivals were unable to turn up the heat in sweltering conditions.
He has now secured more podium finishes than any other driver in the sport’s history, celebrating for the 156th time to move one clear of Schumacher.