Lewis Hamilton says he is facing a tough decision about when is the best time to retire from Formula 1 and move on and focus on other projects and do the things that F1 currently stops him from doing.
The four-time champion has been racing in F1 since 2007 and will therefore start his 11th season next year – his last in his current Mercedes contract. Whilst the 32-year-old says he wishes to continue, he admits he is fighting the decision as to when is the best time to hang up his racing boots and focus on other hobbies.
"It's like the weather. It's about trying to find the balance. I've currently got another year with the team and I do want to continue. But, I'm at that point where there's that question," he is quoted as saying by Autosport.
"You can't come back to F1. Whatever happens, you're gonna miss it. If it's next year, if it's five years from now, you're gonna miss it when you finish.
"But there's a lot of life left beyond it. There are things that I've missed in life.
"I was talking to my best friend the other day about things that I do envy or look forward to, like living in one place, getting a routine, that's my gym, I have game night with my friends here, my family. Each year I stay in the sport, I delay those things."
Hamilton says the loss of his auntie hit him hard and sparked the thought of when might be best to retire.
"My auntie died from cancer and on her last day she said, 'I've worked every day with the plan of stopping one day and doing all these different things, and then I ran out of time.' So I'm battling with that in my mind.
"So I do live my life day-by-day and try to live it to the maximum. So that's what I'm fighting with – I want to keep racing but there are these other things I want to do. I want my cake and I want to eat it. I just want to make sure I choose the right time, but I think I will."
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