Lewis Hamilton talks about his long-term future in Formula 1, the limits of his career and the biggest weakness of the current Ferrari
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is determined to take part in the first African Grand Prix in Rwanda – behind the wheel of a racing car. But when the new Formula 1 race makes its debut in the 2030s, Hamilton will be over 45 – too old for Formula 1? He would certainly be one of the oldest Formula 1 drivers in decades.
But age doesn’t faze Hamilton in the slightest. Ahead of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, he said: “Over the past 70 years, there’s been no one like me here. I feel like I’m built differently.”
“Of course, there are challenges ahead that I can’t foresee today and that come with age. But on my journey, there have been so many preconceived notions – for example, that reaction times slow down with age. Did you see my reaction in the last race? My reaction time is better than that of some of the youngest people here.”
Lewis Hamilton does not yet know when he will call it a day
There are plenty of ways to keep mentally fit these days, Hamilton explained. Moreover, he is still “willing to sacrifice everything for it”.
“I can’t say whether in four years’ time I’ll still want to be doing what I’m doing today. But at the moment, I still love what I do. I’m still giving it my all – and that’s set to remain the case for the foreseeable future,” said Hamilton.
However, he refrained from giving a definitive commitment to competing in the new African Grand Prix: “Will I still be able to compete against a 20-year-old when I’m 44? Who knows? Time will tell. We’ll see if I’m still here in the 2030s.”
Hamilton: “They’d already written me off by 2025!”
Hamilton does not want to artificially prolong his Formula 1 career, but rather to ensure he only drives “for as long as I can deliver the required performance. I don’t want to be driving around when my performance has really dropped off, my reactions have slowed down, my drive has waned and I’m lacking pace.”
People were already saying all this about him back in the 2025 season, when Hamilton, in his first year at Ferrari, was at times clearly overshadowed by his team-mate Charles Leclerc and managed only one sprint victory but no Ferrari podium finish. He finally secured his first podium finish with Ferrari in 2026, with his first Ferrari victory following shortly afterwards. “ “So I’ve proved the people wrong, and I’ll keep trying to do that,” said Hamilton.
What a second-place finish in the World Championship would mean for Hamilton
The final standings in the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship are irrelevant in this regard, although Hamilton has a good chance of finishing the year in second place. He currently sits third with 241 points – just one point behind Mercedes driver George Russell and five points ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Leclerc follows a further three points behind in fifth place.
So what would this second place in the World Championship be worth? “I’m not saying it means absolutely nothing, but it’s not something I’m focusing on,” said Hamilton.
“Becoming world champions is the only thing that really matters to us. Perhaps the other positions are important to some people, but for me, the focus is solely on us securing second place in the Constructors’ Championship. The team deserves that. It would be a huge improvement on last year and something we could build on next year.”
The “only area” where Ferrari is really lagging behind
Because in the medium term, Hamilton and Ferrari don’t just want to keep up, but “to come first”, Hamilton continued. That is why the seven-time Formula 1 world champion wants to achieve one thing above all else in the remaining races of 2026: a solid foundation for 2027.
“I spend a lot of time talking to our chief aerodynamicist and discussing vehicle dynamics: where can we improve this car? For example, how can we retain the positive characteristics of the chassis, which has been brilliant this year? And how can we take another step forward for 2027 without losing the good qualities of this year’s car?”
He is particularly concerned with “the right brake set-up” and ensuring “that the powertrain can keep up with the others”, Hamilton explained. The latter, he said, was Ferrari’s biggest shortcoming in 2026: the “only area where we’ve been lacking a bit this year”, according to Hamilton.
“Our reliability is outstanding. But if we’d been able to keep up with the others on the straights, we’d have been fighting further up the field. That could be the case next year, and that’s exactly what we’re working towards.”