“Don’t Feel the Desire to Remain Active in F1”: Lewis Hamilton Makes Big Retirement Statement While Addressing 8th Title Hopes

Lewis Hamilton is inching closer to joining the 40-year-old club as he turned 39 this year in January. Former teammate and rival Fernando Alonso is 42 and yet is performing like he never got older. Yet, the thought of retirement starts creeping into the minds of the fans and the driver himself. And recently, Lewis Hamilton made a big retirement statement as he opened up about his record-breaking, and now mythical-looking 8th championship. 

The 2021 Abu Dhabi GP and what happened at the end is a very controversial topic. Many suggest that the 8th title was stolen from Hamilton while others opine that everyone should accept the official results. Nonetheless, one thing is for sure: Lewis Hamilton isn’t backing out and is still keen on winning the eighth title. This fight was visible in his words while making the announcement of the Mercedes contract extension, as he explained that still had unfinished business left. 

However, Mercedes hasn’t been able to provide a competitive car to the Briton in the last 2 years. And with Red Bull starting development of the RB20 much earlier, the hopes are slim for Mercedes in 2024. How long will Hamilton wait for Mercedes to provide him the car to challenge for the title? The Briton isn’t getting any younger. Retirement must be something that will be on his mind. This big question of retirement was put forward to Hamilton in a recent interview.

In an interview with Formule1.nl, Hamilton was asked whether winning the 8th title would be the end of his career and if he has any plans in F1 post-driving retirement. The Briton replied, “I never said that an eighth title would be the endpoint. And what follows driving in Formula 1, I don’t know. I don’t necessarily feel the desire to stay in Formula 1 any longer, but as I said before: never say ‘never’.”

Explaining how he’d rather be in an F1 and race rather than being around, he added, “I can’t imagine that I don’t drive anymore and still find myself in a pit box somewhere. I would probably think: ‘I could add another year, then I can still participate.’ So it’s probably better to take a sabbatical and then see if I would like to come back.”

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Nonetheless, when the rumors around the Lewis Hamilton Mercedes contract were going around, it was rumored that the Briton had asked Mercedes for a 10-year contract as an ambassador role post-retirement. But as advised, it was just a rumor. Hamilton also opened up about his non-F1 plans post-retirement.

Surfing, MotoGP, LeMans: Lewis Hamilton’s post F1 Career plans unveiled 

Lewis Hamilton, in partnership with Monster, recently jumped out of a plane. Monster did give Hamilton a parachute in comparison to Red Bull, which gives you wings. The Briton loves adventure sports like Skydiving and Surfing. And that seems to be his post-retirement plans. The Briton also went adventure riding on his dirt bike during the 2023 summer break. 

Lewis Hamilton talking about his post F1 career plans said, “I love watching races like Le Mans, it looks incredible. I love Moto, I’ve always loved MotoGP. I still do. I’ve got two superbikes. I think I’ll ride motorbikes, but not competitively. I’ve got lots of other things to do, I don’t think I’ll be doing any more competitions, at least not as a professional. It takes too much time. I’ll continue parachute jumping and surfing.”

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Seems like Hamilton has a lot of things that he wants to do post-retirement. But for the foreseeable future, we can be sure that Hamilton will be in F1, racing to the best of his ability and giving it his all to get the mythical eighth title.