F1 French Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton races in 300th grand prix and hopes to end long-awaited run for win but no driver has beaten milestone curse as Mercedes star picks Fernando Alonso as his toughest rival over Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton is hitting another milestone as he prepares to take part in his 300th Formula One race at the French Grand Prix this weekend.

The Mercedes star, 37, made his F1 debut in 2007 at Melbourne aged 22 and claimed he still cherishes that appearance as his career highlight.

4

Hamilton finished third and became just the 13th driver to finish on the podium on his debut.

“The whole realisation of reaching your dream is a very, very surreal experience, it is always going to be your first, there’s only one first,†he said.

“Just getting to that first grand prix in 2007, the amount of sleepless nights as a family all of us had had not knowing if we would reach our dream but never giving up nonetheless and being there, that will probably be the real highlight.â€

Hamilton's debut F1 season came at McLaren alongside Fernando Alonso and the Brit named his former teammate as his biggest rival.

He added: "I remember the task of being alongside Fernando. I was so young mentally.

"It is a lot of pressure to go up against a great like him, on pure pace and ability I would say it is Fernando.

"We had some good battles. I wish we could have more and hopefully he is going to continue to race so we can have more in the future."

4

Most read in Motorsport

Two riders die after horror crash which resulted in 11-bike pile-up

'He was on the ground clinching his stomach' - F1 star in surprise presser disappearance

F1 race dates, results and UK start times for entire 2025 season featuring Lewis Hamilton

'Dude, calm down' - Lewis Hamilton details being pulled aside by boss over radio tirade

4

Hamilton is suffering one of the toughest seasons of his career and is languishing down in sixth in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

He is currently on his longest ever streak without a grand prix victory - haven't not won since claiming the chequered flag in Saudi Arabia last season.

But there is cause for optimism that Hamilton's luck could be about to turn with three consecutive podium finishes amid Mercedes' continued upgrades.

Unfortunately, no driver in the history of the sport has won a race after driving a triple century of races.

A defiant Hamilton said: “It doesn’t faze me because I’m getting towards that win.

“I do believe we’ll be able to compete whether it be now or in five races. It has been more about the journey, we’ve got consistency and we’ve continued to push. No one in our team has given up.

“It’s been a really valuable lesson and experience learned for all of us. We’ve sharpened our tools in other areas so when we do get back to where we deserve to be, we’ll appreciate it that much more.â€

Seven-time champion Hamilton will have to defy the odds once again as marvelbet369.com runs through the five drivers to have hit 300 already...

4

Kimi Raikkonen

• Last F1 win: 288th start, 2018 US GP
• Age at the time: 38
• 300th Grand Prix: Monaco 2019
• F1 career: 2001-2009/2011-2021
• Total races: 349

Fernando Alonso

• Most recent F1 win: 201st start, 2013 Spanish GP
• Age at the time: 31
• 300th Grand Prix: Canada 2018
• F1 career so far: 2001/2003-2018/2021-present
• Total races: 344

Jenson Button

• Last F1 win: 228th start, 2012 Brazilian GP
• Age at the time: 32
• 300th Grand Prix: Malaysia 2016
• F1 career: 2000-2017
• Total races: 306

Michael Schumacher

• Last F1 win: 246th start, 2006 Chinese GP
• Age at the time: 37
• 300th Grand Prix: Belgium 2012
• F1 career: 1991-2006/2010-2012
• Total races: 306

Rubens Barrichello

• Last F1 win: 280th start, 2009 Italian GP
• Age at the time: 37
• 300th Grand Prix: Belgium 2010
• F1 career: 1993-2011
• Total races: 322