SUZUKA, Japan – Lewis Hamilton has confirmed that he plans to stay in Formula 1 beyond the term of his current contract with Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion has an agreement to run until the end of 2023 but has hinted under some circumstances that he is considering staying longer.
In a recent interview with Channel 4, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Hamilton was talk about staying for another five yearsand although Hamilton will not be drawn on for a specific time period, he has said he intends to stay in F1 outside of his current contract.
“I know what I want to do – I plan to stay longer,” he said. “It just wasn’t put in the rock for how long.
“I plan to stay with Mercedes for the rest of my life, that’s for sure. It’s more defining what we’re going to do later, even outside of racing, I want to build with Mercedes and there are many things that Mercedes can it is not just a car manufacturer.
“It provides a lot of jobs for a lot of people and it has a strong platform to really change the stories and it has a place where it can have a really positive impact on the environment – there is no There are some things that we can do together and I want to be a part of that.
“I want to be part of the change and work with Mercedes that goes beyond races and championships, but right now it’s winning the world championship and that’s the focus right now.”
Hamilton missed out on his eighth world championship last year after a tight match against Max Verstappen for the championship. The result came after a controversial season finale in which the FIA’s race director, Michael Masi, shut down F1’s safety car restart process to give Verstappen a shot past Hamilton at the lap. final.
But Hamilton insists beating Verstappen is not the main reason for him to stay in F1, instead he is just working to increase diversity in the sport. Hamilton also mentioned his charity, Mission 44, which he set up last year to promote social mobility for children from underrepresented groups in his native England.
“Less than you think,” he said when asked if Verstappen’s dethroning was the main motivation for him to stay in F1. “I think that’s just where I am in life.
“I’ve got great things happening outside, I have a lot of freedom to be able to do things, I’m building things outside of sports with my foundation that I’m just starting with, and it’s going to be There’s a lot of work to be done in this sport and I can’t retire right now because I’m just working on helping change and creating a more open and inclusive environment in here in the sport, and I had to stay to help keep that going.
“Also, I feel healthier than ever, just because of what I eat and how I prepare myself and I love racing. I’ve been doing that for as long as I can remember. since I was 5 years old and that is not going away.
“If I’m healthy and able to concentrate, why would I stop? And I can still do other things I want to do at the same time.”
