We've crunched the numbers, sifted through the stats and dug through the data - and here it is, our review of the 2017 season in numbers...

Another 2017 record breaker was Lance Stroll, who at 18 years and 239 days became the youngest rookie (and second youngest driver of all time behind Max Verstappen) to stand on an F1 podium with third place in Azerbaijan. That achievement came just one race after the Canadian had become F1’s second youngest points scorer on home soil.

To round up some of Hamilton’s other 2017 achievements… - He surpassed Michael Schumacher’s all-time record for front-row starts

Hamilton finished the season having scored points in every single race, becoming just the third champion (after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher) to achieve that feat. His consecutive points streak actually stands at 25 races, dating back to the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix. That leaves him just two points finishes shy of equalling Kimi Raikkonen’s all-time record.

In July, Hamilton matched Jim Clark and Alberto Ascari as being one of only three drivers to have claimed as many as three Grand Slams (pole, fastest lap, win, led every lap) in a single season.

Hamilton also overhauled Ayrton Senna (in Canada) and Michael Schumacher (in Italy) to claim F1’s all-time pole position record, ending the season on 72.

Where to start other than with Lewis Hamilton, who smashed records left, right and centre in 2017. The headline stat is that the Mercedes driver became just the fifth driver in history – and the first Briton – to win four or more world titles.

And finally, F1 cars hit record-breaking speeds in 2017, with the new breed of wider, faster cars contributing to 11 lap records being obliterated (in Azerbaijan, Monaco, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, USA, Mexico, Brazil).

On a team front, meanwhile, Mercedes became just the fourth team in F1 history to win four straight constructors’ titles. What chance them equalling Ferrari’s record of five next year?

Hulkenberg was, of course, joined at Renault by Carlos Sainz midway through the season, the Spaniard having left Toro Rosso as their all-time record points scorer.

In Singapore Nico Hulkenberg claimed an unwanted record, surpassing Adrian Sutil as the driver with the most Grand Prix starts without a podium finish to his name – 135 by the season’s close. Will the Renault star break that barren run in 2018?

Another young gun to shine in 2017 was Force India’s Esteban Ocon whose amazing ‘Oconsistency’ led to him stretching his remarkable finishing streak from the start of his F1 career (which began in Belgium last year) all the way to Mexico – a staggering 27 races. Not only was that a new record, it was made all the more notable by the fact he finished 17 of those races in the points.

Most wins: 9 - Lewis Hamilton; 5 - Sebastian Vettel; 3 - Valtteri Bottas; 2 - Max Verstappen; 1 - Daniel Ricciardo

Most poles: 11 - Lewis Hamilton; 4 - Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas; 1 - Kimi Raikkonen*

* Raikkonen’s pole, in Monaco, was his first in nine years!

Most podiums: 13 - Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas*; 9 - Daniel Ricciardo; 7 - Kimi Raikkonen; 4 - Max Verstappen; 1 - Lance Stroll

* First time since 2010 that three drivers have tied for most podiums in a season

Most fastest laps: 7 - Hamilton; 5 - Sebastian Vettel; 2 - Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas; 1 - Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso. Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen

Laps led: 527 - Lewis Hamilton; 286 - Sebastian Vettel; 187 - Valtteri Bottas; 133 - Max Verstappen; 40 - Kimi Raikkonen; 23 - Daniel Ricciardo

Front-row starts: 14 - Sebastian Vettel; 13 - Lewis Hamilton; 5 - Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas; 2 - Max Verstappen; 1 - Lance Stroll