Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he has a ‘plan’ about when he will retire from F1 after admitting that he sometimes questions ‘how much longer’ he can go. The Brit will turn 40 before he makes his debut for Ferrari at the start of next season.
Hamilton is a driver with endless passions outside of motorsport. The Mercedes star has a keen interest in fashion but also enjoys extreme sports such as snowboarding and skydiving. On top of these interests, he has a host of business ventures to oversee.
With F1’s schedule growing to 24 races in 2024 and media commitments unrelenting, there is less time than ever for drivers to engage in their interests outside of the sport. According to Hamilton, this has pushed him closer to retirement over the years.
In an interview with Esquire, Hamilton explained: “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 continued: “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.”
The seven-time world champion is taking his rivals’ comments into consideration too. “There are so many people that have finished their careers early,” he said. “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 will enjoy spending the twilight years of his F1 career in the iconic Ferrari red. The Stevenage-born racer called time on his 12-season stay at Mercedes before the opening race in Bahrain, citing his desire for a new challenge.
Uprooting himself from his comfort zone is a good sign that Hamilton is still motivated in his F1 career, and after ending a 945-day win drought at the British Grand Prix and then following that up with a triumph in Belgium two races later, any lingering questions about his speed have been washed away.
