Lewis Hamilton, winner of the Belgian Grand Prix, appears to have been carried by luck at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Although he started the race in second position, his victory seems to have been predetermined.
The number 4 that brought victory to the British.
Although the number 4 is often associated with bad luck in some cultures, this weekend, a very different story unfolded for Lewis Hamilton. For nearly 17 years, since his arrival in F1 in 2007, Hamilton has been racing under the number 44, a number that has brought him countless victories, including seven Formula 1 world championships. It is under this number that he also secured his second victory of the season. In 2024, after 14 races, it is the fourth time that the British driver has stepped onto the podium.
This coincidence becomes even more astonishing when the document officially announcing Hamilton’s victory this Sunday also bears the number 44. To recall, George Russell had initially finished first in the Belgian Grand Prix, but he was disqualified due to a violation of Article 4.1 of the Formula 1 technical regulations regarding the weight of his car which was too low.
Another notable event of the race was the pit stop that could have cost Lewis Hamilton the victory. After 31 laps, Oscar Piastri, a driver at McLaren, was leading ahead of Hamilton and made a pit stop to change his tires. Unfortunately, a fatal error occurred when he made contact with a mechanic while stopping. The Australian driver’s extended pit stop took 4.4 seconds. This mistake caused him to come out behind Charles Leclerc and two positions behind Hamilton. Without this unexpected error, Hamilton could have seen his victory in Spa slip away.
Another notable fact, the race this Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps consisted of 44 laps even though it is the longest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar. In short, it seems that Lewis Hamilton’s victory this weekend was a foregone conclusion.