Lewis Hamilton has ruled out any prospect of returning to Formula 1 for a second stint ala Michael Schumacher.
The German legend ended his successful first career at Ferrari in 2006 but would only achieve one podium in a three-year comeback with Mercedes between 2010 and 2012.
Ultimately, it was Hamilton who replaced Schumacher and has since gone on to achieve most of his success on foundations most say Michael laid.
But when the time does eventually come for the five-time champion to retire, he insists it will be for good.
“Never say never, but I do not think that I will compete in other series, I don’t see that happening,” Hamilton told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
“I will probably continue to ride the bike, but purely for fun and it will be very difficult to stop racing. There’s a reason that Michael Schumacher returned in the past.
“[But] I certainly won’t do that, that is never a smart idea.”
It isn’t just Schumacher that Hamilton looks to when ruling out the possibility.
“Also see how that ended with Michael Jordan, it was a disappointment,” he added. “I also learned from those examples, but it says something. It is an addiction that is very difficult to replace.”
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For Lewis, it will help that he has plenty of other interests, including his fashion collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger but he also revealed a new area of fascination.
“Let me put it this way: I am very interested in technology,” he added. “How the world develops in that area.
“In the coming years, 130 million electric cars will be on the market in China. I find it very interesting to see things like that.”
To that final point, Hamilton has spoken several times about Formula E, though whether he would actually join the series is a whole different matter.
