Lewis Hamilton has suggested that he could still be racing in Formula 1 as a ripe quadragenarian, insisting he'll be "doing another deal" with Mercedes in the coming months.
Hamilton is contracted to Mercedes until the end of 2023, and the seven-time world revealed earlier this month that he would remain loyal to the German manufacturer, in one capacity or the other, "for the rest of my life".
This year's troubled campaign that has left Hamilton and his team without a single win to their name hasn't eroded in the least the seven-time world champion's drive or motivation.
Only time will how long he will remain in F1's fast lane, but Hamilton's rivals are "stuck" with him likely for seasons to come.
"In terms of my plans for the future – each year, at the end of the year, you sit there and you’re looking over whatever view you have, and you’re sitting there trying to figure out, and analyse like my next three-to-five-year plan. It’s difficult to do 10," Hamilton told members of the media in Austin last weekend.
"But where do I see myself? What are the things I want to do? What are my goals? And things are being added. And I’m adding in lots of business things.
"I have a lot of business going on. I have a lot of successful, really positive things that have lots of opportunity for success outside.
"I’m still 100% committed, as I imagine when you have family it’s hard to be 100% committed, because you’re sacrificing so much that means so much to you.
"We’re on different paths, building different things."
Barring a dramatic event that could prompt a change in sentiment, and regardless of his success rate next season, it now seems certain that Hamilton will remain on the grid beyond 2023.
"Do I imagine myself being here beyond 40? Maybe," he commented.
"But we are going to do another deal. We’re going to sit down and we’re going to discuss it in these next couple of months, I would say.
©Mercedes
"My goal is to continue to be with Mercedes. I’ve been with Mercedes since I was 13. Mercedes-Benz is my family. They’ve stuck with me through thick and thin: they stuck with me through being expelled at school.
"They stuck with me through everything that was going on through 2020.
"They’ve stuck me through my mistakes, and shit that’s been in the press; they’ve stuck with me through the ups and downs.
"And so I really believe in this brand, I believe in the people that are within the organisation."
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
