Lewis Hamilton has brushed off the topic of retirement claiming he is “still on a mission” in Formula 1.
Speculation over the Briton’s future is rarely quiet with questions asked after the 2020 season, when he was out of contract at Mercedes, and in 2021, following the events of Abu Dhabi.
Then in Hungary, Sebastian Vettel announced he would be retiring at the end of the year, triggering a new opportunity to ask Hamilton if that news meant he might be doing the same.
“I think it’s a reminder that I’m in that part of my career where people that I came up with and raced with for so long will start to stop,” he replied.
Also Read:
- Hamilton can win eighth F1 title ‘in the right car’ – Leclerc
- Vettel says ‘majority’ decision to retire from F1 took ‘years’
“Before you know it, Fernando [Alonso] will not be here and then, who was there after that? I’ll be the oldest I guess! But, no, it’s not made me think about that [retirement].
“I’m thinking about how I can improve this car. I’m thinking about the steps I need to take to get this team winning again, what is the road map to winning another world championship?
“What are the steps we need to do to have everyone aligned in this sport to do more to start truly reflecting the work that we’re trying to do in terms of diversity? I’m thinking about all those things.
“I’m still fighting for those things and still feel like I’ve got plenty to go in that.
“I’m still on the mission, I’m still loving driving, I’m still being challenged by it. So I don’t really feel like I have to give it up any time soon.”
Hamilton is currently signed at Mercedes until the end of 2023 and at his 300th Grand Prix in France, team boss Toto Wolff joked he and Lewis were considering “five to 10 years” more together in order to reach 400 starts in F1.
“That’s a lot of races. I firstly just want to be grateful to get to this point,” the seven-time world champion said in response.
“But I still feel fresh and still feel like I’ve got plenty of fuel left in the tank.
“I’m enjoying what I’m doing, I’m really proud and am enjoying arriving every day and working with this incredible group of people.
“I’m also enjoying working with the sport more than ever.
“We’ve got some great people leading the sport and having great conversations about the directions we are going as a sport so I’m enjoying it more than ever.”