Damon Hill has no doubt that Lewis Hamilton is still capable of winning races and titles, but an uncertain contract situation and a very fast team-mate make you wonder how long his career can last. The 1996 world champion, and now an expert on the Sky Sports channel, talks about this in his column on the pages of The Telegraph.
How does a rider know it’s time to go? If Lewis Hamilton is not asking this question now, in preparation for his 17th season in Formula 1, he will certainly be asked this question more and more as the end of his star career is getting closer.
As far as we know he is out of contract until 2024. If Lewis wins this elusive eighth title and sets another Formula 1 record, will he retire? And if he doesn’t win, does it annoy him even more, or vice versa?
As I often say, if you think F1 is hard to get into, wait until you try to quit!
I well remember flying to Melbourne at the start of the 1999 season, looking at the other riders and thinking, “They’re all 20 years younger than me! Do I want to go to a party with this young company? Probably not.”
I just didn’t want to be considered an “old man”. I saw how they treated my father. He was in his 40s, but he kept racing, and I well remember that towards the end of his career everyone was talking about his age. But he took it with dignity, as usual, though in the end he had to admit defeat. However, it must be emphasized that at that time he was already in charge of his own team.
Anyway, I want to say that making the right decision is not always easy. Lewis is 38 years old, but he is still fast and in great physical shape. Given that the drivers know how to work on themselves, and the cars have power steering, I think Lewis can continue to pilot well, if he chooses, as he enters his fifth decade. The example of Fernando Alonso is a real confirmation of that.
The question is what keeps Hamilton in Formula 1? Is it only the desire to win the eighth title? Or does he just want to keep racing because he likes it? Personally, I can’t imagine Lewis being ready to go in circles and at least try to get on the podium, which Fernando is now being forced to do.
Be that as it may, Hamilton’s contract expires at the end of this season and it will obviously be very interesting to see what his next step will be. Although they and Mercedes have been saying for some time that Lewis intends to continue his career, there is less than a week to the first race of the new season, with no official statements yet. The question arises why?
One possible explanation could be that the parties want to know how competitive the Mercedes car is before negotiating a new contract. If she lacks speed at the start of the season, maybe Lewis doesn’t want to sign a long-term contract? Or is the team still in no hurry to make a decision?
Lewis’s services are expensive. Of course he gives a lot to Mercedes, but the team is very expensive. In addition, in the person of George Russell, they have a young racer who can win the title behind the wheel of a good car.
I think only Lewis and the Mercedes team know the answers to all these questions, but one thing is certain: his career is at a critical juncture.
The end of the 2021 season was painful for him, but then, in 2022, Lewis struggled as the W13 car was so-so. In my opinion, both he and Mercedes were somewhat discouraged. However, I think he found the right attitude towards the end of the championship, although he lost 25 points to Russell at the end of the season.
The rivalry between these two drivers should be one of the most interesting stories in 2023 if Mercedes can improve their car’s efficiency.
George has a very calm and reserved demeanor, but when the stakes are high, when you’re close to realizing the dream of a lifetime, you inevitably want to spread your elbows wider. But if I were offered to make a choice in favor of one of the Mercedes drivers, I would still prefer Lewis: both because he has more experience and because his former passion returned to him, especially if there is a chance to fight for victories again. He looks like he’s in great shape.
Of course George will have to add on from last year if he intends to get ahead of his partner again. I think we haven’t seen everything he can do yet.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
