Lewis Hamilton says he is "loving" Formula 1 "more than ever" as he is locked in a tight battle for the championship with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
The Mercedes driver, who has often hinted at retirement to pursue other interests, including a music and acting career, admitted the Vettel battle has reignited his passion for the sport and he now says he will "keep going for as long as [he] can".
"There's been talks about it [retirement] and I definitely have thought about it and there's been times when I've thought there's other things I want to do, but then we're in the heat of this battle right now and I'm loving it more than ever," the Briton told chat show host Jonathan Ross.
"The training, all the work that you put into something, and then you get to really show your abilities. It's the greatest feeling ever so I'm going to keep going for as long as I can and see what I can do."
Hamilton, who is often accused of focussing on his 'personal activities' over F1, insists he is simply putting plans in place away from racing for when he does eventually retire – keen to avoid the path the majority of retired F1 drivers take, often moving to other racing series or commentary roles.
"When you're in Formula 1 you're in the spotlight, you're at the top of the world, then it's downhill from then on – you don't earn the same money, there's not a huge amount of opportunities because you've been in that world for so long. I've been there since I was eight.
"For me at the moment, for these past five, six years I've really been trying to work on what I enjoy outside of the sport so that when I stop I can walk away and still have other things…every year I'm always assessing the plan."
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