Hamilton signed contract because of fight with Red Bull: 'Love reinvigorated'

On the website of Reuters.com it can be read that Hamilton considered leaving, but he felt the sport was entering an interesting new phase. "I think we are being challenged more than ever this year, which is great," said the world champion. "And I love racing. This is what I want to do."

Before this, Hamilton only had a one-year contract, as he was unsure whether he would continue. "I had the best and most enjoyable start of the year, enjoyed the roller-coaster ride that we're having," he explained. "I found myself just waking up thinking about racing, so I wanted to continue to race."

"The start of this season, when the cars were so close in performance -- pretty much equal -- then it was really one of the most exciting times I've had for some time. To be able to have this battle with Red Bull. I was really hoping that it would continue on like that for the rest of the year but they've taken a huge leap forwards," Hamilton said.

Hamilton not retiring yet

Max Verstappen currently has an 18-point lead over Hamilton. It is an exciting fight, Hamilton agrees. "Now we are having this tight battle it's brought me closer to the team, closer to the engineers, it's making me dig deeper and I love that. It has reinvigorated the love that I have for this sport and love for what I do."

On his retirement, the world champion says the following: "There's going to be a point at which I'm going to want to move on to do different things...I'm not going to do it at 80%, 70% and just trundle along."

"I'm only here to win. So if there's ever a point that I feel I don't want to commit the time or the effort, that will be the time for me to stop. I don't plan to be here until I'm 40. I hope I have something else exciting to do beyond," Hamilton finishes.