Hamilton: I don’t have a desire to go on forever

Lewis Hamilton does not see himself staying in Formula 1 for more than three or four years, and targets being as great as he can be without measuring himself up the the legends of the sport.

Hamilton, at 31, is contracted to Mercedes - currently the best team in Formula 1 - until the end of 2018 and right now he is not thinking about life beyond that point, but is adamant that if he leaves the sport after that it will not be a big deal.

“I try and think to myself: what’s your five year plan? And try and set out to do it. You don’t always hit all the goals, but I try to,” Hamilton is quoted in an interview with UBS.

“Right now, I’ve obviously just signed for another three years with Mercedes including this year. After that, I see myself staying for another three years probably, three or four years, then I’m going to stop.

“I don’t have a particular desire to go on forever. At 37, I’ll still be relatively young I would say, and so I want to be challenged by something else."

“But I think also every year your opinions and your views on things evolve. So who knows what I’m going to be thinking in seven years’ time.”

Already his achievements in Formula 1 match and surpass those of many legends of the sport, but Hamilton says that his records measured up against others do not mean much to him.

“I want to be as great as I can be. I don’t believe being as great as I can be is defined by someone else’s record.”

“I honestly don’t see that. It’s about doing what you love and maximizing it in the time that you wish to participate in it.

“Even if I’m only here for another two more years, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. Even if I was to stop right now, I could look back and say ‘jeez, I’ve learned a lot’. I’ve had an amazing journey.

“There’s not one moment I regret, there’s not one moment I wish I could change, because that’s what got me to where I am today, regardless if you’ve hit someone’s records.”

Hamilton, who made his F1 debut in 2017, has won 47 grands prix, collecting three Formula 1 world championships in the process.