F1 2022: Lewis Hamilton tells Mercedes boss he could drive for another five years in F1
Lewis Hamilton has privately revealed plans for a long term F1 future, which could spell trouble for Daniel Ricciardo and his dream drive at Mercedes.
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Lewis Hamilton has told the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff that he has “another five years” in him and could stay with the team until he is in his forties.
The 37-year-old has a contract until the end of next year but has indicated that he wants to continue in the sport despite being in sixth place, 171 points adrift of the leader Max Verstappen, and having no chance this season of adding to his tally of seven world titles.
Wolff, who has overseen six of those drivers’ championships, described the Englishman as the “greatest personality that Formula One has ever had” and was certain that Hamilton would stay beyond his present contract.
Hamilton and Wolff live a short walk from each other in Monaco and the Austrian said that his star driver had confirmed that he wanted to carry on with the team.
“Just last week we sat down and he says, ‘Look, I have another five years in me, how do you see that?’ ” Wolff told Channel 4.
Ricciardo is rumoured to be considering joining Mercedes as a reserve driver next season, with speculation such a move would be to position himself as a potential replacement for Hamilton should he opt to retire after 2023.
With current Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries expected to join Alpha Tauri this week and Pierre Gasly set to be confirmed as the new driver at Alpine, the options are quickly fading for Ricciardo to have a spot on the starting grid next year.
The Mercedes reserve role may be seen as a step back, but by positioning himself with one of the top teams on the grid Ricciardo could at least immerse himself in a high-performing outfit and increase his chances of being picked up by a rival for the 2024 season.
But the latest hint from Wolff that Hamilton is eyeing a longer future will come as a shock given there had been speculation he was tempted to walk away from the sport after last year’s controversial 2021 world title decider.
The fact he returned in 2022 and has now floated the idea of driving on with Wolff is a clear indication he wants to hunt the elusive eighth world title.
Hamilton handles his own negotiations and the past two deals have been agreed over Wolff’s kitchen table, before being passed to the lawyers to finalise the details.
“Over time we have just grown together,” Wolff said.
“We are totally transparent with each other. So I have no doubt that, whatever we agree on a contract extension, which is going to happen, we are always going to discuss, very openly, what the future holds.”
If he decides to stay, Hamilton would not be the first driver to compete in F1 in his forties. Fernando Alonso, 41, celebrated his 350th race last weekend. The Spaniard will join Aston Martin next season on a two-year contract.
Kimi Raikkonen was 42 when he retired from F1 last season, having started 349 grands prix - a record that Alonso broke in Singapore. Hamilton has competed in 305 grands prix and said in July that he could envisage reaching 400 as he had “plenty of fuel left in the tank”.
Originally published as F1 2022: Lewis Hamilton tells Mercedes boss he could drive for another five years in F1
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