Lewis Hamilton “Will Have an Opportunity to Bow Out at the Top”: Russell

Lewis Hamilton has renewed his contract with Mercedes for one year, till the end of 2021. The Formula 1 community debated whether this means the Briton will retire at the end of this season. It will give Hamilton an option to retire with eight championships at the top of Formula 1.

Meanwhile, post his retirement, George Russell will become a front runner for a Mercedes seat, thanks to his one-weekend stand with Mercedes last season. The Williams driver gives his two-cents on Hamilton’s speculated retirement.

“I think there are a few more years left for him. Whether he decides to continue for a few more years, I think for any great sportsman it is probably quite nice to go out on the top of his game and I guess nobody knows how Mercedes are going to perform in 2022.”

“He will win his eighth title this year. I have got no doubt. He will, statistically, be the greatest of all-time and will have an opportunity to bow out at the top,” said the young Briton.

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Russell on his Mercedes debut in absence of Lewis Hamilton

Russell had his Mercedes debut last year in Bahrain when Hamilton had to sit out due to Coronavirus. He seemed like he was on his way to a debut win before a pit stop blunder followed by a tyre failure had him finish outside the podium at the P9 position.

The young Briton explains how he dealt with such a devastating race. “I think in any sport you have got to overcome the defeats and if you let that affect you too much then you are never going to move on in life.”

“You are always going to have races where you win and you are always going to have races where you’ve lost. But I saw that loss as a victory in itself because of the way it all panned out,” explained the Williams driver.

Lewis Hamilton had a tough outing last weekend during the pre-season testing. However, he believes that it is better to identify the issues now and deal with them before the season kicks off. Do you believe that the Briton will extend his reign of the championship, claim his eighth title and retire after this season?