(CNN)Lewis Hamilton paid his own tribute to Chadwick Boseman after he just two wins away from Michael Schumacher’s all-time Formula One record by winning the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The reigning world champion led all 44 laps at Spa-Francorchamps, with Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in second place and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completing the top three.
Hamilton – the only black driver in Formula One – was stunned by the death of the 43-year-old actor, who lost a four-year battle with colon cancer on Friday night.
On the winners’ podium at Spa, Hamilton posed in the Wakanda salute that Boseman made famous as the title character in the film Black Panther, then spoke about the inspiration behind another famous win.
“We continue to push the envelope and it feels great to end this weekend on a high, especially when Chad (Chadwick Boseman) dies because he made everyone feel like a superhero,” Hamilton said.
It was his 89th career win as he is chasing a record-breaking seventh world title, another historic best by the legendary Schumacher.
However, it was another humbling afternoon for Schumacher’s former team Ferrari, with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel in 13th place and teammate Charles Leclerc in 14th, a far cry from his brilliant maiden win at Spa last season.
Schumacher took 72 of his 91 wins with Ferrari, but the team is a sad shadow of that dominant past ahead of their home race at Monza and their 1,000th. Grand Prix at Mugello a week later.
The contrast to Mercedes is clear, with Hamilton taking full responsibility and claiming his fifth win of the season. This puts him 47 points ahead of Verstappen in a one-sided title race.
“It wasn’t the easiest race,” Hamilton said.
“I had a lockup at turn five and the last corner that caused vibrations and it was a bit of a struggle but I still think it was okay in the end,” he said.
Minor technical issues aside, Hamilton finished in over eight seconds, with Verstappen unable to keep up with the Mercedes pair.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap on his last lap as he finished fourth ahead of his Renault teammate Esteban Ocon, while Alex Albon’s second Red Bull rounded out the top six.
The seeds of Hamilton’s victory were sown on Saturday when he took his 93rd career pole position, breaking the course record and leading the grid.
An emotional Hamilton later took to social media to dedicate this qualifying performance to Boseman.
From pole, Hamilton made no mistake and quickly established a solid lead until a heavy crash between the Williams team’s British driver George Russell and Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo, who lost control of his car on the exit A safety car was deployed at the fast Venn chicane.
Luckily, both walked away without serious injury as Hamilton steadily increased his lead after the safety car was released, taking the win in commanding style and leaving the Brits nearly two clear victories ahead of their closest rival in the Championship standings.
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