Lewis Hamilton already has his fourth Drivers' Championship secured but can he really now go on and surpass Michael Schumacher's seemingly unreachable record total of seven before he retires?

Now aged 32, the Brit will be 33 by the time the 2018 season begins, and there are many that believe that he'll fall just short. However, there is plenty to suggest it may not be as far out of reach as some may suggest.

Yes, Hamilton is not getting any younger but, at the same age, Schumacher had actually claimed the exact same amount of titles. On top of that, the German great had won fewer races than the Englishman at the same point.

In Formula 1, drivers tend to peak later than their counterparts in other sports, with the likes of Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, Nico Rosberg, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, and even Alain Prost not winning their first Championships until in their 30s.

Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio, who is currently second in the all-time list behind Schumacher and one title ahead of Hamilton, didn't claim his fifth until after his 40th birthday.

There is no suggestion that Hamilton will go on that long, and certainly nowhere near the age of 46 when Fangio claimed his last. But considering Schumacher's last Championship was earned when he was 35, in 2004, that is certainly achievable.

That would mean, in order to match the Ferrari legend's record by the same age, Hamilton will need to win in each of the next three seasons.

F1's most successful British driver is already the 5/4 favourite in the online betting markets to defend his crown in 2018, which suggests he's certainly in line to overtake current rival Sebastian Vettel and French great Prost to join Fangio in joint-second.

He's only contracted with Mercedes until the end of next season but, with a place at Ferrari highly unlikely to be available until after Vettel's contract ends in 2020, it looks set in stone that Lewis will sign a new deal with the Silver Arrows in the coming weeks.

If Mercedes can keep up their dominance in the coming years too, Hamilton could already have matched Schumacher's record by the time that comes about. Then he could have the chance of breaking the record for his dream team Ferrari, which would be in apt circumstances.

It seems, however, that a huge factor in the record being surpassed could rely on whether the Briton has the hunger and desire.

Hamilton has often hinted about an early retirement, before stating otherwise, while recently adding the words: "Seven Championships; I personally don't have a desire to chase that."

Following that, though, he said: "I don't know how the other drivers feel about that but the wins feel more exciting to try and chase."

Currently, Hamilton is on 62 race wins (as of November 11, 2017), with Schumacher on a whopping 91. So, surely if he goes for Schumacher's all-time win record, he'll be close to the Championship total too?

The stats are certainly convincing, and it would seem that only Hamilton's desire would stop him from becoming the greatest F1 driver in history - in terms of titles anyway.