Lewis Hamilton doesn’t believe this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix is the start of his final season in Formula 1.
The seven-time world champion only signed a one-year deal at Mercedes for 2021, naturally triggering huge speculation over whether he could retire at the end of this season.
However, Hamilton insists he still loves and is motivated by the sport, therefore, for now at least, he envisages himself continuing into 2022 and beyond.
“In the current position I’m in I don’t feel like this is the end [of my career],” he said on Thursday in Bahrain.
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“Of course we’ve got these changes that are happening next year which are exciting. I think this looks like it [this season] could be the most exciting season yet.
“I don’t feel like I’m at the end, but in the next eight months I’ll find out whether I’m ready to stop or not. I don’t think I will, personally, but you never know.”
In 2021, Hamilton can make more history by becoming F1’s first eight-time world champion, surpassing Michael Schumacher with whom he’s currently tied.
But the 36-year-old denied there was any credence to the idea he could leave if Mercedes stopped winning.
“The position I’m in has nothing to do with whether we are or are not winning a championship,” Hamilton said. “I don’t quit when the going gets tough.
“I wanted a one-year deal. I said to Toto [Wolff, Mercedes team principal] that if we are to work on the future together, we should talk about it much earlier than the January before the season starts, but I’m fully committed to this sport.”
After a tricky pre-season test, it might appear Mercedes start 2021 on the back foot, with Red Bull having moved ahead.
Whether that is true remains to be seen, but if it is, Hamilton claims that would only be a positive.
“Each year it’s a little bit of an unknown but of course more often we have a better feeling of what’s happening with our car,” he said.
“It’s massively exciting for us as a team because we are currently not the fastest. So how are we going to work together, how are we going to unite in order to get to where we want to be?
“For me, I’m super-excited for that challenge. Seeing some of the other teams close, I think it’s going to be great for fans. But I love that collaboration with the men and women in my team and trying to get to a common goal.”