Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has downplayed Lewis Hamilton not ruling out retirement from Formula 1 after 2020.
Even though the team secured a seventh Constructors’ Championship at Imola, and Hamilton himself is only 20 points away from joining Michael Schumacher on seven Drivers’ titles, the Briton is yet to re-sign at Mercedes beyond this season.
Lewis’ comments on his future have been varied from claiming he could physically continue for another decade to what he said on Sunday, that there was “no guarantee” he would be on the grid next season.
But asked about the possibility, Wolff suggested it was simply a spur of the moment comment.
“I guess if he were to decide to step out of Formula 1 – which I don’t think is going to happen and I hope is not going to happen – then I think we are going to have a pretty frantic driver market out there,” he said.
“I think it’s the moment, it’s the emotions. We are all happy, but very tired also.
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“And the same for me: I relate to his feeling that you question yourself and that you think about all the other things that matter.
“When you switch on the news in the morning, it is all about the struggles we face so it is normal for somebody to have these feelings. But we want to continue this journey. We are not finished.
“There will be a moment when the Drivers’ Championship is going to be decided so we can sit down and talk about the contract. We have a few months before the first race in Australia next year.”
The main reason Hamilton may be considering his future is Wolff has also indicated he’ll be stepping away as team boss after 2020.
But the Austrian doesn’t think that will be a reason for him to leave.
“I think we go together in a way that we have a symbiosis and obviously it’s important where our heart is and mindset is for next year,” he said of their relationship. “But I’ve said that this is my team, I am a very proud co-owner with Mercedes, and I’m not going to go anywhere.
“My role may change in the future and it’s something that he has asked and I think nothing is ever secure. Like Niki Lauda in the 70s, you could wake up one morning on a Friday or Saturday morning on a track and say ‘I’m just not having fun anymore’ and I think that can happen to anybody.
“But we want to continue this journey. We are not finished. Lewis and I and all the team, which we are not finished.”