“I want to make sure I really max it out while I can and fully enjoy this sport I’ve done my whole life,” said Lewis  Hamilton. He’s been the showbiz for almost two decades now. Hamilton has seen all the sides of F1 – glory to gruesome. However, there is a deadline for everything. Currently in his last dance with Mercedes, the F1 legend might have a few more years to deliver in the sport.  But for how long?

Has retirement ever crossed Lewis Hamilton’s mind? Probably yes. At the age of 40, when more drivers would choose to take resort in their happy abodes, Hamilton has chosen the tracks. Although he isn’t the first one to do so, we are witnessing Fernando Alonso do the same. But you might wonder, after seven world champion titles and endless records to his name, what else is left for Lewis to achieve? At this point, the game has gone beyond the realm of records. However, the ‘Billion Dollar Man’ of F1 has made some honest confessions.

Lewis Hamilton believes he’ll know when the time comes for him to leave F1

The Stevenage native has been in love with motorsport all his life. At the age of four or five, he watched Ayrton Senna for the first time. And at the same moment, little Lewis realized his destiny. “I wanted to be a world champion like Senna,” he had once shared. It goes without saying, Lewis Hamilton has created history in F1. But he surely has a time frame for his career. He will be starting a new process in Ferrari next season – a new environment and new people. It would be challenging, but then he’s Sir Lewis, he always finds his way out.

Esquire asked Hamilton if he had plans for how long he’d like to keep going. He said: “I definitely do. There are days I’m like, shoot, I don’t know how much longer I can go. There are days where I’m like, shoot, I’d love a break, a proper break because you don’t get a real big break in the season like other sports.” Lewis further added, “You don’t finish until mid to late December, and then you’re back into training already in January, and that’s two times a day you’re training. There are another couple of hours of therapy that you’re doing during the time as well. So you’re not getting a huge amount of downtime. And in February, you’re flat-out running until December.” It is a pretty grueling process, but Hamilton wants to be around and have fun for as long as he can.

“But I do have mentally a plan of where I would like to extend to. I’ve just got to strategize and sequence things,” Lewis continued, “Is there a time where 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.” The Mercedes ace is passionate about F1. What else would you expect from someone who has repeatedly visited the elite Hall of Fame? However, this retirement confession has come days after, Ferrari’s lynchpin, John Elkan’s bold declarations. So, what did Elkan say?

John Elkan’s massive confessions on Hamilton’s Ferrari ventures

Ferrari’s chairman, John Elkan played the integral role of luring Lewis Hamilton to Maranello. He checked every avenue to make the colossal signing happen. That’s not all, Elkan is willing to invest $400 for Hamilton’s Mission 44. The Italian industrialist declared to Gazzetta, “Hamilton and Ferrari have found each other.” He believes that the 7x champ will come to Maranello with a mindset to win. It would be surprising if that hadn’t been the case.

Elkan further said: “We are talking about a great athlete who is very motivated to become world champion for the eighth time, as the last races have shown.” Hamilton broke his 945-day winless streak to win at Silverstone and Spa while continuing. Lastly, the chairman clarified: “He certainly does not come to Ferrari to enjoy his retirement. He wants to play it.” John Elkan is right, that Lewis Hamilton desperately wants to win his eighth title. However, Ferrari would definitely be his last theatrics.

As much as the Lewis Hamilton fans would want him to continue in F1 for a longer period, it isn’t difficult to understand how straining the sport can be. Not just physically but mentally as well. But for now, rest assured because ‘Hambone’ isn’t leaving right now. His dance with Ferrari is yet to come.