Lewis Hamilton opens up on future as he reveals his plans after Mercedes contract expires
LEWIS HAMILTON has revealed that he is planning on staying with Mercedes.
The F1 star had previously hinted at retiring from the motorsport but is still determined to win his eighth world title.
The Mercedes driver, 38, is in his 17th successive Formula 1 season and is way behind Max Verstappen in the points leaderboard.
The Brit went the entire year without claiming a Grand Prix victory for the first time since his debut way back in 2007.
But after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, he admitted that he still has “that drive” to race.
His contract with Mercedes is set to expire at the end of the season, with discussions over an extension ongoing.
He said: “I am focused on being better every day, and to be honest I am focused on the long term.
“I am going to be here for some time, longer than one year.
“Still got that drive, still got that push and still want to do and I love what I do.”
Hamilton finished 6th in Baku and is currently 4th in the Driver Standings with 48 points, 45 behind leader Verstappen.
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Former world champion, Jenson Button believes that Hamilton will keep on going as he is still “hungry to win”.
He told Sky Sports: “I don’t think Lewis is going to walk away from the sport.
“As a racing driver, if you’ve been winning for so long and then you’re suddenly not, you want to fight back to winning – so you’re not going to retire.
“Or, to come at it another way, if you’re in a bad car for many years, you want to retire – because it just gets you down.
“But Lewis is not in a bad car, he’s just in a car that is not as good as what he is used to.
“He knows the strength of the team, he knows how quick he is still and they’re going to work together to get back to fighting with Red Bull. And I think they will.
“It probably won’t be this year. But in 2024, I think we see Lewis on the grid. He’s still hungry to win another world championship.”