Lewis Hamilton is a legend of Formula One, and if he called it a day and retired tomorrow, he would still go down as one of, if not the best of all time.
Despite originally claiming that he did not want to race into his 40s, Hamilton may have taken inspiration from his boss’s comments, with Toto Wolff advising the Brit to take a look at what Fernando Alonso is doing, and the likes of Tom Brady in the wider sporting world at their ages.
The seven-time world champion is set to sign a multi-year contract as he continues to hunt a record breaking eighth title, keen to avenge the result in Abu Dhabi last year.
Wolff has reassured fans that Hamilton can continue to perform at his best for the foreseeable, with the Brit not just going on a vengeance mission that is driven by emotion.
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“Lewis is totally mature and conscious about where he stands in his career,” said the Mercedes team principal.
“He’s not being led by his emotions, like I’ve seen with sportspeople that think it can go on forever and trying to hang on to it.
“Lewis is rational and intelligent about it. He says ‘I know I have a shelf life as a racing driver’.”
The details of the contract and still unclear, with the 37-year-old saying in a recent interview that it is pretty much done, and that he really does not like the sound of retirement right now.
Fernando Alonso is still at the top of his game at 41, so it is anyone’s guess when Hamilton might begin to slow down and call time on his racing career, but Wolff has suggested that there is a few years of life left in the Brit.
“Lewis knows that one day he will not be the best himself anymore. That hasn’t happened yet. But we’ve been talking about it.
“He said ‘I’d love to continue… do you think we can do another five to ten years?’ but this is more jokingly.
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“I think he has a few good years left in him and he will be the first one to say ‘I don’t think I can compete against a 24-year-old that is as good as I was or even close to how I was’ and that is simply how it goes,” he explained.
The Stevenage born driver has said that he wants to stay at Mercedes for the rest of his life, even beyond his racing days, with Hamilton having an eye for the technical side of the sport.
“He will also be successful in his own way, in a second or third career and reinventing himself,” concluded Wolff, suggesting that Hamilton has different avenues to explore upon the end of his racing days.