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Lewis Hamilton admitted he by no means anticipated to proceed racing in System 1 till the age of 40 after extending his deal to drive for Mercedes.
The seven occasions world champion will have fun his fortieth birthday earlier than starting the ultimate season of the brand new two 12 months deal Mercedes introduced right this moment. He has beforehand stated he anticipated he would cease racing earlier than reaching that milestone age.
Nevertheless Hamilton, who made his F1 debut in 2007, stated he nonetheless has the identical enthusiasm for driving and competing that he’s at all times had.
“I positively didn’t suppose that I’d be the age that I’m and really feel the way in which that I do, bodily and mentally, and nonetheless love what I’m doing as a lot as I do,” he stated. “And that’s one thing I’m extremely grateful for.
“I believe lots of people keep in the identical jobs and roles for a protracted time frame and fall out of affection with it however simply preserve going as a result of it’s possibly the one factor they’ll do. However for me I genuinely love, nonetheless have that love for what I’m doing.
“I nonetheless love getting within the automobile. I nonetheless love racing with my friends and I nonetheless love working alongside Bono [race engineer Peter Bonnington] and all the blokes within the storage and the staff, chasing that frequent objective and dream. And I really like that feeling of when you might have the lows collectively and when you might have the highs collectively. There’s nothing prefer it.”
Two years in the past Hamilton got here inside one lap of changing into the primary driver in System 1 historical past to win eight world championships. However he misplaced the title in a controversial conclusion to the season, following which he didn’t seem in public for weeks, prompting hypothesis he would retire from F1 on the spot.
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Having prolonged his contract for the primary time since that infamous episode, Hamilton denied he’s in search of to avenge the championship he misplaced below bitterly disputed circumstances.
“On the 2021 factor, I’m not likely a revenge individual,” he stated. “It’s not about revenge. It’s not about redemption. That’s prior to now, there’s nothing you are able to do concerning the previous.
“However what we will do is figure more durable and be extra exact and be higher shifting forwards. And I really consider that with this staff, we will win extra world championships and extra races collectively. In order that’s the place all my vitality goes.”
Mercedes’ kind slumped final season and the staff solely scored a single race victory, courtesy of Hamilton’s staff mate George Russell. Rivals Crimson Bull are undefeated up to now this 12 months, however Hamilton stated there was by no means any doubt in his thoughts about wanting to hold on racing for his staff.
“I positively needed to proceed,” he stated. “In life there’s at all times ups and downs. Final 12 months was a troublesome 12 months and I’m fairly certain everybody was questioning whether or not they needed to proceed as a result of it’s robust on the prime and it’s such a tricky sport.
“However that feeling, that thought, rapidly goes away and you set your thoughts and your vitality into being one of the best you could be and coping with the conditions that you simply’re confronted with. And so I’m actually happy with what we achieved final 12 months to get by it.
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“While we began on the unsuitable foot this 12 months we’ve had some actually nice outcomes, we’re second within the constructors championship and our plan is to maintain that after which shut the hole to the man forward.”
Max Verstappen is on the right track to attain one of the dominant championship victories of all time this 12 months. He has gained races by margins of greater than half a minute over Crimson Bull’s next-closest rival on events this 12 months.
Nevertheless Hamilton is satisfied Mercedes will be capable to problem for championships once more through the course of his new, two-year contract.
“I’m not working in the direction of subsequent 12 months considering that it’s going to take one other 4 years to get to the place we have to be,” he stated. “However I’m conscious that it does take time.
“After all, in my coronary heart, I’m so hopeful that the selections we’re taking, and the course that we’re rolling in the direction of, is that which can put us in that concentrate on zone to have the ability to battle and be shut and be difficult for pole. But when it’s not subsequent 12 months, we’ll proceed to work by it. However I, in my coronary heart, actually consider that if it’s subsequent 12 months or the 12 months after, we will likely be there.”
“The objective is straightforward,” Hamilton added. “Setting the goal is straightforward. Attaining that concentrate on will not be. It’s going to take all of us pulling collectively.
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“I believe each staff right here and each driver is working so onerous to get on prime of the aero packages that they’ve and the staff that they’ve. Pulling everybody collectively and having everybody firing on all cylinders will not be simple in a big staff. In order that takes constant work.
“The identical from a driver’s perspective, simply ensuring you’re performing each weekend. I nonetheless, regardless that I’ve been driving and racing all these years, I nonetheless really feel like I can enhance every weekend. And I believe that’s what I really like about this sport. You’re by no means going to succeed in perfection. However the pursuit of perfection is without doubt one of the most enjoyable issues about what we do.”
He’s assured the adjustments the staff made in response to its poor begin to 2023 – altering the event course of its automobile and reinstating James Allison as technical director – has satisfied him the staff are on the precise path.
“It’s what you see, it’s not essentially what somebody says. It’s the work that you simply’re doing. It’s the conferences we’ve been having with all of the engineers, with James Allison and the entire group again on the manufacturing facility simply focussed on the heads of all of the departments coming collectively and speaking and actually participating higher than ever earlier than about the place we’re, the errors we made, why we made these choices, and why we gained’t make them once more and the place we’re going. And simply all having that confidence in one another that we’re one of the best at what we do and after we come collectively and after we give it time, we’ll get to the place we have to be.”
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2023 Italian Grand Prix
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