A new British treasure
He may have joined an elite of winners, but fans predicted more, with 'lewis hamilton knighthood' spiking in the days after his victory.
Courage
There is no success without risk
All champions push boundaries and have a loyal following because of it. After Michael Schumacher's off-piste skiing accident at the start of 2014, 'schumacher update' peaked 9x globally. The seven-time F1 world title-holder became the 15th-highest spike of the year, with people searching to find out 'how's shumi doing.'
Hopes for recovery
After the accident, Schumacher was rushed to the hospital and put into an induced coma. For the rest of the year, his progress was monitored by millions.
Fédération Internationale des Patrouilles de Ski is a rescue service for participants of winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing.
An induced coma is a temporary coma brought on to protect the brain during major neurosurgery. 'Schumacher coma' was the highest term associated with coma in 2014.
Giving it everything
In October the young driver Jules Bianchi collided with a stationary tractor at Suzuka in Japan. After a swift response, his condition stabilized and searches for 'jules bianchi' leapt 25x.
"If we can overcome it, we will make absolutely certain that the dream lives on."
These poignant words were spoken by Richard Branson following the Virgin Galactic test flight explosion that resulted in the tragic loss of a pilot in October. Undeterred, we searched for ‘space travel’ more than ever in November.
Riding the ridge
When Danny MacAskill took his bike to the remote Isle of Skye, his skill, bravery and cinematography wowed 22 million viewers worldwide.
Top five most searched extreme sports 2014:
- BMX
- Parkour
- Motocross
- Skydiving
- Bungee jumping
Making a splash
The birth of new sports can make for breathtaking results. Hailing from Australia, 'fire surfing' was one of the most eye-catching new search trends in adventure sports this year.
The human race continues to push the limits
Google executive Alan Eustace caught the world by surprise and created a jump in search when he beat Felix Baumgartner's longest free fall in October, setting a new world record of 42 km.