World Champion Lewis Hamilton says he wants to remain in Formula 1 through at least the 2023 season.
Hamilton, 35, is out of contract at the end of the current campaign though has always indicated that he is highly likely to remain at Mercedes, for whom he has raced since 2013.
Hamilton joined 2007 and has become one of Formula 1’s most successful drivers, taking six titles, and 86 wins, putting him on the brink of breaking Michael Schumacher’s records.
“Firstly I don’t think you can guarantee anything but I plan to be here for sure, that’s definitely the goal,” he said.
“In terms of how long I go, that’s a bit of an unknown. The COVID lockdown, whilst it was negative in many, many ways, in some ways it gave a lot of life, a lot of energy to focus on some other things.
“That bit of time off was really a bit of breathing space, so it has kind of given me a bit of renewed energy to perhaps go longer.
“Ultimately, I want to be able to perform at the level I am performing at now forever, but obviously there is a point at which physicality and the mental side can tail off.
“I don’t know when that will be but I don’t see that happening in the short-term, in the next two or three years. So, I’m definitely going to be here for the foreseeable future.
“There’s not another driver from my background coming and I’m conscious of that as well.
“I want to earn my position here and I feel like every year I come back it’s not a given. Just because I’ve got world championships under my belt, I think you still have to earn the right to be here in terms of how you perform and continuing to deliver.
“So my goal is to continue to deliver for as long as I can. I do see myself going for at least another three years.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas is also expected to stay with the team into 2021.
