Lewis Hamilton concedes that retiring having won just a single title would ‘massively suck’.
The McLaren driver, now in his fifth season, clearly has many years ahead of him in order to ensure such a scenario doesn’t become a reality.
The 26-year-old came so close to taking the 2007 title in his rookie year, but in the end fell a point short and finished second ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso on countback.
He managed to take it in his second, but hasn’t been able to match that success since, though he came close last year having entered the final race with an outside chance.
The Brit says it’s all about winning, not participating.
“It would massively suck if I only won one world title – massively suck,” admitted Hamilton.
“It would feel like a waste of so many years. A lot of people say it’s just about participating, but it’s not.
“I want to win. I’m here to win. It’s all I care about, it’s what I live for. Second feels less devastating but third, fourth is not good.
“Then you have to look at things, you could be down at HRT F1 and be finishing 20th or worse. I wouldn’t be able to race then.”