Who would’ve thought after dominating the turbo-hybrid era from 2014 to 2021, Mercedes would be anywhere other than at the front after the 2022 regulation changes? No one saw this turnaround coming, least of all Lewis Hamilton. Following a heartbreaking end to the 2021 season, where he came oh-so-close to winning a record-breaking eighth championship, he was fired up to claim what was his in 2022. But Mercedes had other plans, ones that didn’t involve a championship victory. 

With the chances of Mercedes’ resurgence up in the air, another thing has been playing on everyone’s minds since the start of this season. Considering the Brackley outfit hasn’t given Hamilton the opportunity to fight for the title for a second year running, is he still as intent on staying in the sport? Additionally, his contract with the team expires at the end of 2023, and they’ve still not announced an extension. With speculations going around, though, Hamilton finally gave his thoughts on the subject.

The past two seasons haven’t been easy on Lewis Hamilton

As a 38-year-old, F1 isn’t the only thing going on in Hamilton’s life. F1 is a demanding sport. Drivers need to stick to a schedule to maintain a certain fitness level. If they’re not training, they’re recovering. If they’re not recovering, they’re training. And if they aren’t doing either of those, they’re racing. This usually leaves no room to do anything else, and for someone like Hamilton, it means sacrificing things he wouldn’t want to. Considering he isn’t even fighting for race wins anymore, that, too, adds to a dip in motivation to continue. 

In an interview with M4 Sport, the seven-time champion was asked if the past two years have either lengthened or shortened his career. Hamilton replied, “I don’t know, it changes year on year. I would say I don’t think either. Neither. If I’d won in 2021, I would’ve still continued to race because I love what I’m doing. I think it’s just really about the mental state and how much you’re willing to continue to sacrifice.” It’s no secret Hamilton—unlike the younger generation—has a lot going on in his life other than the sport, and he addressed the role this plays, too. 

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He added, “I’ve been here a long, long time, but I can’t sacrifice less than these young guys, and they don’t do anything else mostly, apart from gaming and waking up and training. I have all these other things that I’m doing at the same time. I have to train harder because it takes longer to recover. With all the other commitments that you then have also, and the balance you try to create in your life, it’s busier than ever.” At the end of the day, the younger generation is who he’s up against. Having a teammate like George Russell is another added pressure, one which he’s dealing with by taking lessons from the past.

Lewis Hamilton reflects on his McLaren days to view Russell’s challenge better

It’s clear that Hamilton will stay in F1 only until he feels it’s worth sacrificing other aspects of his life. Until then, though, he has George Russell to compete against at Mercedes. When the young Brit joined Mercedes in 2022, he beat his veteran teammate that season, making it only the second time any of Hamilton’s teammates have outscored him. That’s not to say none of the others have challenged him, one of whom was Fernando Alonso at McLaren in 2007.

While discussing Russell’s challenge and reflecting on the 2022 season competing against him, Hamilton said, “George had nothing to lose and everything to gain. If he finished behind me, they would say, ‘Well, you finished behind a seven-time world champion,’ and if he finished ahead, then, ‘You’re a legend.’ I know exactly what that feeling was like, and I had exactly the same with Fernando. If I finished behind him, they would say, ‘We expect that it’s your first year,’ and if I finished ahead of him, I was great.”

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Only Lewis Hamilton knows for how much longer he’ll stay in F1, but for the time he is here, there’s no doubt he’ll dedicate the most amount of time and energy he can to the sport.