Lewis Hamilton has been experiencing the most difficult period in his time since the end of the 2021 season. The Brit narrowly lost out on the record-breaking eighth championship title and hasn’t recovered still. Now at 37 and after an extremely miserable year, the entire world of Formula 1 speculated on Hamilton retiring. This debate is still on as the Brit is yet to renew his contract with Mercedes beyond 2023. However, despite this air of uncertainty, Hamilton’s former McLaren teammate has put his faith in the Brit continuing with two simple logics.

Jenson Button has walked a mile and then some in Hamilton’s shoes. He knows exactly how difficult it is to make this life-changing decision to retire and drive a non-competitive car. This is exactly how Button could give insights into the psyche of his fellow countrymen and former teammate while speaking to the media including GP Fans.

Button expressed his first way of looking at it. He said, “As a racing driver, you have two things; One, if you’re winning for so long and then you’re suddenly not, you want to fight back to winning. So you’re not going to retire.”

He then revealed his second logic. “And then you can come at it the other way. If you’re in a bad car you want to retire, if you’ve been there for many years in a bad car, because it just gets you down. Lewis is not in a bad car. He’s in a car that’s not as good as what he’s used to,” said Button.

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The former world champion might be onto something, as we noticed a shift in Hamilton’s body language after Baku. Mercedes just needs to ensure they’re competitive enough and on the upward trajectory to ensure Hamilton continues, and more importantly, with them.

Hamilton continuing with Mercedes is a completely debatable topic. However, the boss Toto Wolff has faith in the Brit’s loyalty towards the team.

Apart from Jenson Button, Toto Wolff also backed Lewis Hamilton to continue

The Brit has spent an entire decade with the Brackley outfit. In fact, without Mercedes, there wouldn’t be a discussion about his eighth championship title and vice versa. This prolonged partnership has built a certain bond between the team and Hamilton and Wolff is banking on this bond to see this partnership continue.

“I think when it happens, he will tell us in time. I don’t think he’s going to stop on short notice. He’s not someone who would leave us in a difficult position. The riders can obviously make their own decisions, but I’m sure Lewis will do it without hurting the team. I would also add that we will look around that day and I believe that the team is still eager to find other solutions.”

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Everybody, in and around Hamilton, is banking on him not retiring. However, the Brit himself is banking on his team to give him a competitive enough car. It will be interesting to see whose wishes are met first, or if they are even met.