Hamilton Plans F1 Exit Amid Calls for a Break

Hamilton discusses his strategy for concluding his F1 career and yearns for downtime, following a poignant triumph at Silverstone.

At Silverstone, before his home crowd, Lewis Hamilton ended a wait that had persisted since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix of 2021, marking his last victory in F1. It was, undoubtedly, a deeply intense and emotional moment—the Mercedes F1 driver was in tears at the finish line.

Speaking to Esquire, the Briton reflected on this victory, which seemed, even to him, like something out of a fairy tale.

“Everyone was talking about this fairy tale. And it truly was completely unexpected. Heading into that weekend, I had no inkling that it could be possible. And it had been such a long time. There are so many thoughts that run through your mind. You start to believe in some of them, bit by bit.”

“And finally, there came that day when I could excel, and we excelled as a team, and it put an end to all that. And it helps you rebuild. So, it was really incredible to be able to do that at home, in my country, with my family. The last race with Mercedes at Silverstone. It couldn’t have been more magical.”

Lewis Hamilton confessed to having doubted, not his abilities, but the possibility of ever winning a Grand Prix again. Was the first battle, then, against himself, against his inner doubts?

“It was primarily a mental battle. Keeping sane, trying to acquire new tools. At the end of the day, it always comes back to perseverance and dedication. Hard work. It always pays off in the end. I think I’ve learned that life is really about suffering and perseverance. And that’s what life is, isn’t it? It’s not about how you fall, but how you get up. It’s about how you apply yourself every day. It’s about how you connect with the people you work with. I probably learned to be a better teammate during this period because we had more time to focus on communication.”

Hamilton, still sprightly at nearly 40… but for how long?

Following Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, who turns 40 next January, is currently the second oldest driver on the grid. And he has consistently proven that he can still compete at the highest level.

How has he adapted to remain competitive at nearly 40?

“One always adapts, that’s for sure, and you learn that you have to be careful with your energy. Recovery is huge, it’s a very big part of the process. It’s the whole 360-degree process. It’s not just about going to the gym. It’s about how much stretching you do, how much physio you do, what you eat. And it changes constantly from week to week. And of course, it depends on how much energy you have, the different time zones you’re in.”

“I don’t really have rituals for dealing with these time zones. I listen to a lot of music. I have music in my room. I record music. Actually, I write and sing music. Various kinds of R&B. I often read in the evening. I try to meditate, especially in the morning. Then I focus on my sleep. So there’s a cut-off time by which I want to go to bed, depending on when I need to wake up the first day.”

Does Lewis Hamilton have a career plan as he joins Ferrari next year? Does he see himself hanging up the steering wheel at the end of his contract with the Scuderia? Does he harbor doubts about his own ‘expiry date’ in F1?

“I really do have a career plan. There are days when I think, I don’t know how long I can keep going. There are days when I think I would really like to take a break, a real break, because there isn’t a real break in the season like in other sports. The season doesn’t end until mid-December or late December, and then we start training again in January, twice a day. So there isn’t much downtime. And by February, we’re ready to race through to December.”

“But I have mentally a plan of where I’d like to end my career. All that remains is to devise a strategy and get things in order.”

“Is there a moment when I won’t be fully committed and no longer in love with this project? That’s the moment I hope never comes, the moment when I no longer love what I do. But I will know when it’s time to stop.”

“I want to ensure that I give my all while I can and fully enjoy this sport that I have dedicated my life to. There are so many people who ended their careers prematurely, and I’ve spoken to many of them who wished they could have done another year or two. And they’ve told me: ‘Stay as long as you can!’ But I don’t want to continue if I’m not performing well.”

Does Lewis Hamilton feel a particular motivation to beat the ‘youngsters’ in F1? To prove that he is still highly competitive?

“Not particularly. I’m naturally very competitive. I don’t care who it is. I just want to win.”

“When I won at Silverstone, I didn’t think about anyone else. I thought only of my team. I thought about the people who were with me. The people who have sacrificed time away from their families. People who have given that extra bit of time in their day, when they could have left earlier to go home and see their children, and who gave that extra time to build the parts that allowed us to achieve that result. It’s them I think about.”