Lewis Hamilton admits attempting to match Michael Schumacher’s total of seven Formula 1 world championships isn’t really a motivation for the remainder of his career.
On Friday, the Mercedes driver officially claimed the fourth title he won in Mexico in October when he was awarded the trophy at the FIA prize-giving gala in Paris, reaching that total at the same age, 32, as the German legend was back in 2001.
And though his team is currently in the midst of a run of success comparable to that of Schumacher and Ferrari in the early 2000’s, the growing competition plus the likelihood of only having at least three more years on the grid means Hamilton doesn’t see reaching seven or higher as an attainable goal.
“I can’t see it at the moment,” said the Briton talking to the media before Friday’s ceremony. “Four more? It’s taken me 10 years to achieve these four… I don’t know – I still don’t currently have that desire to match it.
“Matching [Juan Manuel] Fangio could be quite cool,” he added, referring to the Argentinian five-time F1 champion “and being that I’m going to be here for at least another couple of years, that’s my goal – to at least try to get that.”
This year Hamilton would break a number of records en route to his fourth title, including surpassing Schumacher’s record for most pole positions, while proud of what he has accomplished, Lewis claims he won’t judge his legacy in F1 by the statistics.
“I don’t think the amount of titles that I have, when I’m older and I look back, I don’t think that’s really going to define who I am as a driver,” he said. “I think how I’ve worked with the team, how I’ve driven the car, how every time I drive a car I extract it [performance], that for me is what I feel inside defines me.”
