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ESPN staff
Five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says he is still motivated enough to stay in Formula One for another five years in order to chase down Michael Schumacher’s records.
Hamilton, 33, has won five world titles and 77 grands prix, putting him second only to Schumacher — seven titles and 91 wins — in F1’s all-time records. He has won four of the last five drivers’ championships and currently leads the 2019 standings by 17 points from teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton’s contract with the dominant Mercedes team runs until the end of 2020 and he rarely talks about his plans beyond that date. However, in an interview on David Letterman’s Netflix show ‘My next guest needs no introduction’ Hamilton hinted that he could stay in the sport in order to try to match or surpass Schumacher’s records.
“Michael retired when he was 38 and I’m 33, so in my mind I can definitely do five more years,” he said.
When Letterman pointed out that five more years in the sport was no guarantee of more championships, Hamilton added: “But I am ridiculously determined to win.”
The Mercedes driver went on to reveal that he has struggled with “mental issues” during some of the low points of his career, but did not elaborate.
“It’s definitely not just ‘nothing but fun’. It’s a hard, hard year,” he added. “Mentally, you have these massive highs when you win and then you have these massive comedowns. It’s something I’ve never really spoken about, but you often do suffer from mental issues and instabilities.
“Keeping that through the year, when you hit rock bottom – which you do as an athlete – and if you are lucky you can find strength at rock bottom, so it’s about how you get up and not how you fall.”
The show focused on Hamilton’s formative years in go karts and the relationship with his father, Anthony. With Anthony as his mechanic, Hamilton won the British championship in 1995 and says one of his best memories from his career is driving back home with his father after the race singing ‘We are the champions’.
Looking back at that time, Hamilton said the sacrifices his father made, which included taking on four jobs and not going on holiday for several years, still inspires him to go on breaking records.
“What really drives me and what I feel that some of the people I race against may lack, is that fire I have from when I was young and just how hard they [Hamilton’s parents] had to work,” he said. “I’ve got this opportunity that I could easily let go of right now, but I’d feel like I would be squandering it if I didn’t continue to improve, grow and push — so I’ve got to keep going as long as I can until I’m not enjoying it.”