F1 News: Lewis Hamilton Admits He Wants To Retire As World Champion

"Retiring as a world champion is a dream."

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he wants to retire as a World champion, but still has no plans to stop soon. 

Hamilton holds the record for number of championship wins, alongside the great Michael Schumacher, with them both having seven. Hamilton was close to taking his eighth in 2021, however, Max Verstappen took the win at the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

During the 2022 season, the Mercedes W13 was not in a competitive position to be able to properly go up against the Red Bull's. The team struggled with awful porpoising issues from the beginning of the season and once they had those under control, it was clear the bouncing had been covering a lot of other issues with the car. 

The team were able to make some significant improvements towards the end of the year and Hamilton's new teammate George Russell took his first career win at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Mercedes revealed that Hamilton had asked for more of the tests and data collection to be carried out on his car as he has already had a lot of success. The 2022 season ended being Hamilton's first without a race win. 

Speaking to Bild, Hamilton explained:

“Motorsport isn't the most important thing for me. When I was a kid maybe it was. Probably also when I got into Formula 1.

“Ever since I was in my 30s, I've realised that it's all about making memories. With friends, with family. It's about key memories with the people who mean the most to you.

“That's what I focus on and plan things to create those moments. Because that's what you take with you in the long run.

Hamilton continued:

“Sometimes you wake up and have this feeling: I don't want to do this anymore. And sometimes you wake up and think: I can still do other things my whole life, there is definitely more I want to achieve. It won't be a terribly long time now, but I'll definitely be staying.

“I think retiring as a world champion is a dream that every athlete has - and so do I.”

The F1 icon is in contract with Mercedes until the end of the 2023 season, however, he has expressed interest to sign another multi-year deal with them. He added:

“We haven't started with that yet. So far we haven't had the time, we've been on the road for two months at a time.”

Reflecting on the difficult 2022 season, Hamilton explained:

“The year was definitely not a disappointment for me.

“It was all the nicer to see how happy we were about the small stages. We fought for fifth place and everyone was excited. Then it was a matter of fourth place and everyone was absolutely thrilled. It was a nice experience to be so happy with a fourth or fifth place.

“Also feeling the feeling of fighting your way forward, of having first, third or second place: We're almost there. This is something we all needed.

“I appreciate achievements even more now. After the race in Brazil, when George Russell won and I finished second, I was incredibly happy about this team effort.”

Hamilton and the rest of the Mercedes team are looking ahead to 2023 to be able to come back in a position to fight for the title. He said:

“I know how hard it is to be at the top and to stay there.

“We want to get back to the top. What gives us great hope is the end of this season. The last few races have shown a clear positive trend and prove that with perseverance we can achieve anything.”