After a second consecutive season that saw Lewis Hamilton go without winning a race, the 7-time world champion faced a question many fans dread. Drawing parallels with the famous Niki Lauda retirement from 1979, an interviewer asked Hamilton if he would pull a similar move and retire suddenly. X user Junaid JB#17 quoted the Briton’s response in an update on the social media platform.
“I can’t say, I really have no idea. It can be abrupt, and I’m suddenly gone. Or I slip into a different role. But at the moment, I still love racing too much.”
At 38, Hamilton stands as one of the oldest and most experienced drivers on the grid. As such, questions about his retirement are becoming a norm for the Mercedes driver. However, Hamilton has always dismissed all such talks and claims his love for racing is too much for him to step away from F1 anytime soon.
Furthermore, given Hamilton‘s importance in the Mercedes camp, it is highly unlikely the Briton will step away from the team as they set on the path to resurgence. Since the onset of the latest technical regulations, the Brackley-based team has not seen much success, winning just one race in two seasons.
Most of it has to do with the team sporting an uncompetitive car that had no aerodynamic edge over the competition. As such, it becomes key for Hamilton to stay with the team so he can help build a car that can vie for race wins.
Lewis Hamilton was Mercedes’ biggest positive in 2023
In another season marred with an underperforming car, Hamilton managed to churn out increasingly impressive performances with each passing race. The 38-year-old secured a podium finish 6 times in 2023 and also secured P3 in the drivers’ championship.
Furthermore, with 234 points this season, he was pivotal in Mercedes securing P2 in the constructor’s championship. The performance was also critical in Mercedes realizing how important Hamilton was to their operations, thus leading to a two-year contract extension.
Over the course of these two years, Mercedes’ primary goal would be to go back to the days of 2021 and earlier, when they were the undisputed champions of the sport. Meanwhile, the team will also want to help Hamilton win a record eighth drivers’ world title, putting him in a league of his own.
However, those days seem too far for now, as Red Bull has a tremendous lead over the rest of the grid, and the upcoming RB20 could well be even better than a daunting RB19.
