Lewis Hamilton still has a very big goal he wants to achieve with Mercedes before he calls an end to his career, despite current uncertainty.
The four-time world champion is out of contract with the UK-based German manufacturer at the end of this season and, despite persistent claims a new deal is imminent, so far it remains unsigned.
A failure to win any of the opening three races in 2018 and problems extracting pace has only added to the speculation, however, in a video commemorating his 100th race with the team in Bahrain, the 33-year-old insists he remains committed.
“My hope for the future is that we continue – continue to grow, excel and always move forwards,” he said. “Obviously, to build our relationship, but I really want to take this team the furthest it has ever been.
“I want to be part of this journey where Mercedes are the most successful Formula 1 team in history. I think it would really upset the red cars and the red team, so that’s my goal…”
Legendary triple world champion and now non-executive chairman Niki Lauda also claims a deal “in principle” has been agreed to keep the Briton for 2019 and beyond.
During the interview, Lewis spoke about how his relationship with the Austrian had started when he was considering his future at McLaren in 2012.
“I remember being in Monaco, down by the pool and Niki calling me and he’s like ‘We want you!’,” Hamilton recalled.
“We had never really ever spoken, me and Niki. He didn’t have a good view of me. I don’t know why. He didn’t really know me. We hadn’t even met and had a conversation.
“When we started talking, particularly when we first met, we started to realise that we had a lot in common and we were very similar in our views of racing – like ‘Actually, he’s not a bad dude!’”
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As for what particularly convinced him to join Mercedes though, he added: “Ross [Brawn] came to my Mum’s house and sat my kitchen, which was pretty cool.
“Growing up watching Michael winning all those championships, seeing Ross on the pit wall for all those Grands Prix and I’ve got the guy in my Mum’s kitchen asking me to, basically, replace Michael.
“I love the idea that you watch Michael go to Ferrari and take them from not being successful. Being a part of that journey and winning – it looked amazing to watch and I wanted to do something like that.
“I’d already done everything I think I could have done at McLaren. I saw Mercedes as this baby about to start growing into something and I wanted to be a part of it. People saw it as a big risk but I’m a risk taker and that’s exciting. If you’re not taking risks, you’re not living.”
