F1 News
Hamilton reveals conundrum on his F1 future: 'Won't race if I'm not good'
Lewis Hamilton is approaching his 40th birthday and many would expect the seven-time World Champion to start thinking about life beyond Formula 1. In fact, Fernando Alonso aside, racing into your 40s has become rare in modern Formula 1. The current Mercedes driver admits retirement and future plans are in his mind, but for now, it's about pushing flat-out.
Many would also have predicted Hamilton to finish his career at Mercedes, but the Brit will start a brand new chapter in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Hamilton will move to Ferrari and will continue racing when the new rules and regulations are introduced in 2026. But does Hamilton have a time frame in F1?
How long will Hamilton keep racing in F1 for?
"There are days I’m like, shoot, 'I don’t know how much longer I can go'. There are days I’m like, shoot, 'I’d love a break because you don’t get a real big break in the season like other sports'. You’re not really getting a huge amount of downtime. But I do have mentally a plan of where I would like to extend to," Hamilton revealed in an interview with Esquire.
"I’ve just got to strategise and sequence things. Is there a time when I’m not all in, and I’m just not in love with it anymore? That’s the moment that hopefully never happens, in the sense that I’ve fallen out of love with it. But I will know when I need to stop. I want to make sure I really max it out while I can and fully enjoy this sport I’ve done my whole life," Hamilton added.
Hamilton is statistically the greatest driver of all time. The Brit has 105 wins in his Formula 1 career but recently experienced a near 1,000-day win drought. Mercedes missed the mark when the 2022 rules and regulations hit the track but have finally caught back up and Hamilton is taking advantage of his stronger car. He has won two of the last three races, though in Belgium, he benefitted from his teammate George Russell's disqualification. Still, Hamilton had to be there to feel the benefit, and he drove a near-faultless weekend.
Hamilton is approaching his 350th Grand Prix in F1, which would put him level with Kimi Raikkonen on the all-time list. Alonso is still far in the distance, but both of those drivers [Alonso and Raikkonen] stopped racing in Formula 1 for a short period of time. Michael Schumacher, also in the top five for the number of Grands Prix, had a break aswell. A gap doesn't appeal to Hamilton, who plans to keep on going as long as he feels he is good enough.
"There are so many people that have finished their careers early, and I’ve spoken to many who’ve said they wish they could have just done one more year or two. And they’re like, “Stay in as long as you can!” But I don’t want to do it if I’m not good," Hamilton concluded.