As Lewis Hamilton approaches the so-called ‘twilight phase’ of his career, obvious questions with regard to his future at Mercedes, and in F1, have come up. While he is of course 37 years old, people often forget where modern sports science has reached.

To answer the sought-after question, and many others, Toto Wolff sat down with Channel 4 Sport and David Coulthard. 

David asked him, “…Lewis is going to be around for the next year, 2 years, maybe, 3 years. But it’s difficult to imagine him to be doing it when he’s 40. He still seems to have the passion…”

While the question has a lot to do with Lewis’ age, it also has to do with the fact that he is out of contract with Mercedes at the end of 2023. 

Wolff anyway answered, “I think I don’t know if 40 is that age where you say that’s not adequate anymore for a racing driver.”

He compared Hamilton with other greats of sports, “If you look at where Fernando [Alonso] is with 41 years, he’s still very much there…” 

“You look at Tom Brady, who’s somebody that I really admire for having the discipline for how he manages his life and his sport. He’s 43 or 44 and he’s on the pitch.” 

“So I think, Lewis, with the way he leads his life with his full ultra-narrow focus on Formula 1 racing, all the others are just hobbies. I think he can take it quite far,” he reasoned.

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Wolff’s logic does make sense. Alonso and Brady are a few great examples of how dedicated individuals can extend their careers in elite sports beyond the conventional retirement age.

Has Lewis Hamilton shown an interest in being part of F1 beyond his contract?

Wolff’s appreciation and admiration for Hamilton’s professionalism and dedication aside, Lewis himself has been very open about his future.

Lewis has time and again responded to questions regarding his future with a resounding yes. In the same interview, Wolff gave fans an inside into one of his conversations with his start driver. He said, “And just last week we sat down and he says ‘well, I have another five years in me. How do you see that?’”

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hamilton himself responded to a similar question with “I’m still on the mission, I’m still loving driving, I’m still being challenged by it. So I don’t really feel like I have to give it up anytime soon.”

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Rival drivers and teams might possibly not be too happy knowing this, but it is great news for Mercedes faithful. Lewis is a modern great and to see more of him will be a pleasure for the fans.