lewis hamilton has no intention of retiring and has made it clear before getting into the car at the Miami Grand Prix. It’s curious. Years ago, when the Briton was at his best and no one could dispute the hegemony of Mercedes, Lewis seemed to have a preference for other interests outside the circuits and implied that his goodbye to F1 was close to him. Now, after a disastrous 2022 and with many doubts also in the current season’s car, the seven-time champion clings to his seat, rejects the rumors that place Charles Leclerc in his place and affirms that the renewal with Mercedes is just a matter of nuances. At 38, the second oldest driver on the grid after Fernando Alonso (41) has decided to follow the example of the Spaniard and show that he can still be competitive and fight for more titles.
“I have no intention of leaving F1 so soon. I’m not at the end of my career, my downhill hasn’t even started. I’m in the prime of life! If you look at Le Bron James or Tom Brady, they’ve shown that careers can go on for a long time as long as you’re motivated to put the energy and time into it,” he stresses.
“It all depends on the intensity with which you want to work and stay competitive in terms of physical and mental abilities. At the moment, I have no intention of changing, just to increase my motivation and improve. I am very motivated for itHamilton argues.
He does not mention Alonso but it is no secret that the rivalry with the two-time Spanish champion is one of the most motivated in his career. And after the turbulent 2007 that both starred in sharing the box at McLaren under the orders of Ron Dennis, Lewis has always maintained that he missed the fights with Fernando when he did not have cars that would allow him to fight on equal terms with the Englishman. Hence Hamilton’s reaction at the Bahrain GP, when he did not hesitate to interrupt Alonso’s press conference to congratulate him on his “incredible” overtaking, which would end up being designated as the best maneuver of the month of March by F1.
Hamilton is enjoying his battles with Alonso again. And he trusts Mercedes’ ability to react to get back to the front: “Sometimes you get bored and wonder whether to change… but then you realize that what you want is to be the first to finish,” he says. “Mercedes is my home, I feel happy to be where I am. And although he has not signed the new contract, we are working on it,” he insisted in Miami.
“Sometimes deep business talks get complicated because there are emotions involved. It’s something we have to set aside when we negotiate,” he adds about his close relationship with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who a few days ago also took the renewal for granted. Lewis and spoke of Leclerc, 25, as a target “perhaps for the future”.