Lewis Hamilton says he plans to see out his current Mercedes contract, which expires at the end of the 2018 season, and says there's no current reason that would make him want to retire earlier than that, amid speculation about his future.
The Briton has been the subject of much speculation recently, which some believing he has thought about hanging up his racing boots to focus on other projects, but Hamilton insists he's "loving racing" and will be in F1 with Mercedes next season.
"At the moment I’m loving driving," said Hamilton. "I feel like I’m at my prime. I feel like I’m driving better than ever and I’m loving driving with this team.
"So I can’t imagine…there is no current reason to want to have to stop.
"I’m still enjoying it and I still have a contract with the team for at least a year so I plan to see that out at the moment."
Even adding a fourth title, which would see him match the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost, wouldn't encourage Hamilton to quit as the hunger to add more titles will always exist – which is in stark contrast to his former team-mate Nico Rosberg who retired days after winning his first title.
"Even getting another championship, it won’t be a case of hanging up my gloves," added the 32-year-old. "I will always want to get more."
However nothing is impossible and Hamilton hinted that he could change his mind should circumstances drastically change in the next few months.
"I can’t really say what is going to happen six months from now, except to say I am loving racing.
“I don’t know what is going to happen, I love driving and you could say it’s unlikely [I would retire], but you can’t say what frame of mind I will be in at Christmas."
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