Hamilton stays with Mercedes: 'Never doubted about quitting'

Ahead of the Monza Grand Prix, it was announced that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will remain employed by Mercedes until the end of 2025. That means Hamilton will be a Formula 1 driver until at least age 40. The seven-time world champion had a season of ups and downs in 2022. He acknowledges that and understands the rumours of doubts about his future, but says quitting was never an issue.

Lewis Hamilton has been with the Mercedes team since 2013. In service to the German racing stable, the Briton managed to win no fewer than six world titles. Between 2014 and 2020, all championships went to Hamilton, with the exception of 2016. In that year, teammate Rosberg ran away with the title. After Max Verstappen beat him in the 2021 season finale, Hamilton was determined to strike back in 2022. However, the Mercedes was disappointing in terms of performance.

Hamilton: 'That feeling, that thought disappears quickly'

Even in the current season, Mercedes has so far failed to connect with the leading team on the grid. Despite this, Hamilton says he has never doubted his future. He comments: "No. I definitely wanted to continue. When you have ups and downs, like last year was a difficult year, I'm pretty sure everyone was questioning whether they wanted to continue. Because it's tough at the top. It's such a tough sport. But that feeling, that thought quickly goes away. You put your mind and your energy into being the best you can be".

Hamilton says the goal for this year is to secure second place in the constructors' championship. Furthermore, the Briton will do everything possible to try to close the gap to leader Red Bull. The seven-time world champion has also set himself another goal over the next few years, and that is to compete for prizes again:"The goal is simple. Setting the target is simple. Achieving that target is not. It's going to take all of us putting together. I think every team here and every driver is working so hard to get on top of the aero package that they have."