Lewis Hamilton to break previous F1 promise as Mercedes star admits his surprise
Lewis Hamilton admitted he didn't think he would still be racing in Formula 1 beyond his 40th birthday.
But that's exactly what he will do now that he has put pen to paper on a new contract with Mercedes. It will keep the Brit with the team and in F1 until the end of the 2025 season, expiring just a few weeks before his 41st birthday.
Hamilton has already been racing in the sport for 15 years, having made his debut with McLaren in 2007. And he had previously stated that he would not still be racing in F1 by the time he reached 40, though now he has agreed to do exactly that.
Speaking to reporters at Monza, the seven-time world champion admitted he never thought he would be doing that. "I definitely didn't think that I would be the age that I am and feel the way that I do, physically and mentally, and still love what I'm doing as much as I do," he said.
"That's something I'm incredibly grateful for. I think a lot of people stay in the same jobs and roles for a long period of time and fall out of love with it but just keep going because it's maybe the only thing they can do. But for me I genuinely love, still have that love for what I'm doing.
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"I still love getting in the car. I still love racing with my peers and I still love working alongside [race engineer Peter Bonnington] and all the guys in the garage and the team, chasing that common goal and dream. And I love that feeling of when you have the lows together and when you have the highs together. There's nothing like it."
Hamilton has been out of the title conversation over the last two seasons, but has made it clear he is not sticking around just to make up the numbers. Having been so cruelly denied an eighth championship success in 2021, he hopes the two-year extension to his Mercedes stay will give him a chance to set the record straight.
"On 2021, I am not really a revenge person, and it is not about revenge," he said. "That is in the past, there is nothing you can do about the past, but what we can do is work harder, be more precise and be better-moving forwards.
"I truly believe that with this team, we can win more championships and races together, so that is where all my energy is going. Mercedes has supported me since I was 13 and we still have unfinished business. We are in this together and we've got a lot of work to do to get ourselves back to the front, but there's no place I'd rather be.
"The goal is simple, setting the target is simple, but achieving that target is not so it is going to take all of us pulling together. Every team and driver here is working so hard to get on top of the aero package they have and pull everyone together and have everyone firing on all cylinders, which is not easy in a large team. It takes consistent work and, from a driver's perspective, you've got to make sure that you perform every weekend.
"Even though I have been driving and racing all these years, I still feel like I can improve each weekend and that's what I love about this sport. You are never going to reach perfection, but the pursuit of perfection is one of the most exciting things about what we do."
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