Lewis Hamilton, the star Mercedes driver, has not taken home even a single race victory since 2021. The renowned driver also had the worst season of his career in 2022. These statistics have provided F1 analysts and experts the chance to put forward their theories regarding the future of the 103 Grand Prix winner. Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, recently shared a tipping point that the 38-year-old would be considering renewing his Formula One contract with Mercedes.

The legendary driver has been performing under his final year of employment with Mercedes. The management of the squad, though, is fairly certain that the F1 icon will agree to a new contract with them. However, given that the new season will begin in a few days, the 38-year-old has not yet made it clear when he intends to sign an extension. Since 2021, the British driver has faced many difficulties, and in light of last year’s problems, his fellow countryman Jenson Button has identified a turning moment that Hamilton may want to take into account before signing a contract. Button claims that before agreeing to a new contract, Hamilton wants to know how competitive Mercedes will be in 2023.

The 2009 winner revealed to The Telegraph, “It has to be that right? “Why otherwise would you leave it this late? He knows how annoying we all are asking [about the contract]. I mean, we’ve got to ask the question. But he’s going to hate answering it over and over and over and over again. It can only be because he’s wondering how competitive they will be. Is he going to sign if the car is uncompetitive because he wants it to be quick again before he retires? Or is he thinking ‘If it’s not better, I’m just going to retire.’ Who knows?”

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You might be mistaken if you believe that Button was the only one to provide a theory about Hamilton’s retirement plan. Another Formula 1 world champion has commented on the retirement intentions of Lewis Hamilton and suggested that another uncompetitive season may force Hamilton to stop competing in Formula 1 altogether.

Another former Formula 1 champion shared his perspective on Lewis Hamilton’s future

Hamilton was on the verge of winning his eighth world championship. However, he was prevented from winning the eighth world title by an extremely significant and contentious decision made by Michael Masi. And now 1996’s champion Damon Hill, who had himself given up racing three years after taking the crown, has asserted that the seven-time champion’s goal is to win a record-breaking eighth world championship.

Hill told The Telegraph, “After a while, you’ve had your fill of driving F1 cars, as amazing as that might seem. Lewis will respond to opportunity. If the opportunity diminishes rather than increases, then it will be more difficult for him to deliver those stellar performances. Given his incredible record, he may well want to ask, ‘Why do I need to keep doing this?’ if there’s no sign of the summit. I think that is his only motivation. I don’t think he just wants to race.” Indirectly, the 1996 champion wants to convey us that Hamilton might not extend his contract if he doesn’t see a competitive W-14.

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If we take into account all of these hypotheses, Hamilton may race in the upcoming F1 season for the last time. However, according to Mercedes, Hamilton will undoubtedly sign a contract extension deal. Perhaps only time will tell which option the seven-time champion will choose. Having said that do you believe the W-14 can stop the Strom named Max Verstappen?