At 38 years of age, Lewis Hamilton is close to retirement compared to most of the Formula 1 field. Perhaps a surprise to some, but retirement is a prospect he says fails to scare him. Hamilton, who is tied to Mercedes until the end of the 2023 season, was asked about his future and the seven-time Formula One world champion is taking advice and wants to turn to a field he is passionate about even if motorsport will always remain one of his passions.

Lewis Hamilton is closer to the end than the beginning of his F1 career. It is not impossible that this season will be the last of his long adventure. The seven-time Formula One world champion is seeing his contract with Mercedes end next June and is starting to think about what to do next. Reported by the French media, Hamilton spoke casually about his post-career.

“I’ve talked to other athletes about it and I realise that we focus so much on being the best we can be in our field that the other things we love, like playing an instrument, or writing scripts, all fade away,” said Hamilton, who is keen to avoid the “little death” that many athletes talk about.

“I’m trying to find other things I’m passionate about”

“How do you keep at your best while developing other skills and discovering other passions? You know, there are people who say to LeBron James, ‘Shut up and dribble,’ like a lot of people put you in a box and say you can only do one thing,

“But I’ve seen and talked to active people as well as retired people, and a lot of them say, especially when they retire, that everything has fallen apart and they haven’t figured out what they’re going to do next,

“So they go through this emotional journey of discovery, but it takes time. So I try to learn from these things, apply them and find the other areas that I’m passionate about,” he said.

“When I stop, I will say to myself: Thank you F1”

But motorsport will always be in the back of his mind. “I really feel today that I have a lot of projects on the go, and when I stop I will say to myself: Thank you F1, but I have something better to do now. But I have no doubt that my father and I will continue to go to the karting track or whatever. I’ll always be competitive, that’s literally part of my DNA that will never change, we’re competitive in everything,” said Hamilton.

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