Hamilton sees himself continuing in F1 "for at least another three years"

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he plans to be in Formula 1 "for at least another three years".

Although Hamilton does not have a contract with Mercedes beyond the end of this season, it is expected he will soon be signing a new deal.

At the age of 35, Hamilton also feels that physically and mentally he is in good shape, with the extended off-season due to the Covid-19 pandemic providing him with renewed energy to continue in F1 until his late 30s.

"In terms of how long I go, that's a bit of an unknown," replied Hamilton initially when asked as to how many years he felt he would be racing in Formula 1.

"I would say the Covid lockdown, when we had the first part of the season cancelled, whilst it was a 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 a bit of breathing space. It gave me a renewed bit of energy to perhaps go longer.

"Ultimately I want to be performing at the level I'm performing at now forever, but there is a point at which physicality and the mental side tail off, and I don't know when that's going to 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, hopefully, for the foreseeable future, and also we're in a period of time where there's not another driver from my background at the moment, and I'm conscious of that as well.

"I want to earn my position here, and I feel 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.

"So my goal is to continue to deliver for as long as I can, so I do see myself going for at least another three years."

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