Hamilton Retirement Sabbatical Speculation

Hamilton Ponders Future: Retirement or Break?

25/01/2024

As Lewis Hamilton turns 39, he contemplates either retiring from Formula 1 or taking a sabbatical. His future in the sport remains uncertain as he approaches the end of the current rules era.

Lewis, who just turned 39, doesn’t rule out retiring from Formula 1 in the coming years, but can also envision taking a “sabbatical” with a view to return.

Last year’s long and speculative contract negotiations for the seven-time world champion ultimately ended with just a two-year extension, only taking him to the end of the current rule era, late 2025.

His record-breaking title streak came to an end amid major controversy with the highly contested showdown with Max Verstappen in 2021, and since then, the Red Bull driver has started his own run of victories and titles.

When asked about Verstappen’s ongoing series, Hamilton said, “I’d say ‘keep doing what you’re doing’. He’s doing really well.”

Indeed, 26-year-old Verstappen is arguably considered the best F1 driver alongside the sport’s two oldest drivers: Hamilton (39) and Fernando Alonso (42).

“I think Max and Fernando have one thing in common with me,” Hamilton stated. “We are all extremely competitive. We go to great lengths to achieve what we want.”

“I can’t say much about them as people. I only know them from the world of Formula 1 – it’s not like I’m going to visit them at their homes.”

Some believe that Hamilton intends to leave Formula 1 as soon as he wins his eighth title, thereby setting a clear record for the most titles won by a driver.

“I never said that an eighth title would be the endpoint,” the British driver smiled. “But I don’t know what’s next after Formula 1.”

“I don’t necessarily want to stay active in Formula 1, but you should never say never. But I can’t imagine not driving and still being in a team’s stand somewhere.”

“I would probably tell myself, ‘I could have continued for one more year’. So it would probably be better to take a sabbatical and then see if I want to come back.”

Perhaps Hamilton’s closest friend in F1, Sebastian Vettel, recently hinted that this was exactly what was waiting for him: returning to the cockpit after a break.

“It didn’t surprise me, as we’re seeing it more and more with retired drivers now,” Hamilton said. “Fernando came back, Michael Schumacher too. I’ve also seen it with athletes from other sports and I’ve talked to a few of them.”

“They said, ‘You lose something you’ve done your whole life. Suddenly, it’s gone’. I imagine it’s an incredible hole to fall into.”

Hamilton Retirement Sabbatical Speculation. Hamilton Retirement Sabbatical Speculation

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Full 2025 F1 testing results

Carlos Sainz
1
CARLOS
SAINZ
Leader
Lewis Hamilton
2
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+0.031s
Charles Leclerc
3
CHARLES
LECLERC
+0.083s
George Russell
4
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+0.197s
Max Verstappen
5
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.218s
Alex Albon
6
ALEX
ALBON
+0.302s
Kimi Antonelli
7
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+0.436s
Oscar Piastri
8
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+0.592s
Pierre Gasly
9
PIERRE
GASLY
+0.692s
Lance Stroll
10
LANCE
STROLL
+0.881s
Liam Lawson
11
LIAM
LAWSON
+0.904s
Jack Doohan
12
JACK
DOOHAN
+1.020s
Yuki Tsunoda
13
YUKI
TSUNODA
+1.149s
Isack Hadjar
14
ISACK
HADJAR
+1.327s
Fernando Alonso
15
FERNANDO
ALONSO
+1.352s
Esteban Ocon
16
ESTEBAN
OCON
+1.380s
Lando Norris
17
LANDO
NORRIS
+1.534s
Gabriel Bortoleto
18
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
+1.709s
Nico Hulkenberg
19
NICO
HULKENBERG
+2.109s
Oliver Bearman
20
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+3.013s

Testing Total Distance Covered by Team

1
Mercedes
458
2
Haas
457
3
Racing Bulls
454
4
Alpine
405
5
Williams
395
6
Ferrari
382
7
McLaren
381
8
Sauber
354
9
Aston Martin
306
10
Red Bull
304
Race Center
Australia Flag
Australian GP
13 Mar - 16 Mar
FP1
14 MAR 01:30
FP2
14 MAR 05:00
FP3
15 MAR 01:30
QU
15 MAR 05:00
RACE
16 MAR 04:00
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Australian Flag
Australian
Albert Park
16 Mar
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
Go toTop