Portuguese Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton surpasses Michael Schumacher with record 92nd win

Lewis Hamilton clinched an historic Portuguese Grand Prix victory, surpassing Michael Schumacher to become the driver with the most race wins in F1 history.

The 35-year-old started on pole, but found himself behind his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas after a chaotic first lap which also saw Carlos Sainz lead the race for a period following some light rain.

But Hamilton settled into the race as the rain eased, passing Bottas after 20 laps. From that point on, the championship leader was in control of the race, building an unassailable lead over his Finnish teammate.

Max Verstappen completed the podium positions by finishing third, where he qualified, while Charles Leclerc took a respectable fourth place and Pierre Gasly made a late charge to impress once again with a fifth place finish.

Sergio Perez deserves a mention when assessing the best drives of the day, recovering from a spin on the opening lap to cross the finishing line in seventh, but Gasly’s late charge to take fifth place, passing the Mexican with just two laps remaining, made him the Driver of the Day. One wonders what Christian Horner is making of Gasly’s performances particularly with Alex Albon struggling so badly.

1/66 - Drama through the first few laps! Bottas dropped down to third into the first turn, Perez then tagged Verstappen and now Bottas has the lead! Is something wrong with Hamilton? Rain is falling! What a scruffy start! Hamilton is down to P3!

2/66 - What an incredible start for the Spaniard! He is into the lead! Bottas in second, Hamilton in third. Norris is up to fourth and Raikkonen is running P6! What an incredible start to this race! Rain is causing problems.

6/66 - Bottas back in front! The Finn passes Sainz and there is a sense the two Mercedes have found some race pace, and some grip, with the rain easing off somewhat. Bottas' tyres are now up to temperature and regains the lead at turn one. Verstappen is flying... keep an eye on that!

20/66 - Hamilton takes first place! The championship leader had DRS on Bottas down the home straight and there was little the Finn could have done to keep him at bay. It's been a chaotic first 20 laps, but after starting on pole Hamilton is back at the front of the pack.

History for Hamilton! The world champion takes the chequered flag with a huge 25-second advantage over Bottas in second place and Hamilton now has the most race victories (92) of any F1 driver in history! What a stunning performance from the six-time world champion!

“I’ve got a cramp,” Hamilton complained over the Mercedes team radio with just a few laps to go. This provided an idea of how physical this race was for the drivers, with wind and rain making this a challenging afternoon. But it also showed how untouchable Hamilton is right now. The toughest challenge he faced today was from lactic acid in his leg.

There are few better in wheel-to-wheel combat than Perez and he demonstrated this with a sensational move on Esteban Ocon after 35 laps, sticking with the Renault through three turns before taking fifth place.