LEWIS HAMILTON took another giant step towards cementing his status as Formula One's greatest racer of all time by winning his record-breaking 92nd Grand Prix in Portugal.

And with it the reigning world champion moved closer to title No7 and equalling Michael Schumacher's haul.

Hamilton joined level with the German hero on 91 career race wins last time out at Eifel.

But the pair were not tied out in front for long as Hamilton and his Mercedes team blew away the rest of the field.

He opened up a 16-second lead with ten laps to go and it was a far more routine win than his very first, 13 years ago at the 2007 Canadian GP – a year after Schumacher's last.

In fact, Hamilton lapped all his opponents up to fifth this afternoon – only Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc avoided.

And even a spot of cramp in the closing stages did nothing to halt his march to rewriting yet another chapter of F1 history.

The Brit started at the front of the grid at the Algarve International Circuit after pinching pole from team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

But it was Carlos Sainz who enjoyed a blistering start at lights out after capitalising on Verstappen's lock-up.

The Spaniard then overtook both Mercedes cars to take the lead before Bottas claimed P1.

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Hamilton got himself back in front on lap 20 and it was all too easy for the Brit as he breezed past his team-mate.

And from there it was all about the record breaker.

The Mercedes pair opened up a mammoth gap on Verstappen, allowing them both to pit and come back out in first and second.

By the time he claimed the chequered flag after 66 laps of driving, Hamilton was 25.592 seconds clear of Bottas – the biggest winning margin of the season – with Verstappen third and Leclerc fourth.

And just like any proud dad, Anthony Hamilton was on hand to capture the moments – including his son on the podium – on his iPad.

The winner said: "I owe this to the [Mercedes team] here and those back at the factory. It’s been such a privilege to work with them.

"I could only of ever dreamed of where I am today. It's gonna take some time to sink in. I can’t find the words at the moment."

Hamilton is now the joint favourite to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award alongside Marcus Rashford at 2/1.

Sports Personality of the Year – Ladbrokes

Marcus Rashford – 2/1

Lewis Hamilton – 2/1

Tyson Fury – 4/1

Ronnie O'Sullivan – 5/1

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