Hamilton wants to be an astronaut

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton visited NASA headquarters and promptly declared that he would happily give up his Formula 1 career to be an astronaut.

The 32-year-old, who leads the Formula 1 drivers’ standings, from his Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel, by 59 points ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

He shared his visit to the space exploration facility with his fans on Instagram, while Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were also in attendance.

Hamilton was most impressed by the astronauts’ training pool and also stopped to try on one of their helmets.

“I would happily give up my job to come work here,” joked the three times F1 world champion.“I want to work in this pool every day and then go to space. OK?”

Hamilton is closing in on his fourth Formula 1 title this season. Thereafter could a career change be on the cards?