Formula One: Lewis Hamilton drops a hint about future plans

Four-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is now saying that he plans to stay in the sport for at least another couple of years.

In a discussion during which he was asked where or not he could break the all-time Formula One championships record of seven that is currently held by Michael Schumacher, four-time champion Lewis Hamilton dropped a hint that he may not be retiring as soon as a lot of people think.

However, this hint may have been dropped inadvertently, as the discussion was centered around Hamilton’s championship goals, including whether or not he felt as though he could break Michael Schumacher’s championship record of seven. By the nature of the discussion, however, retirement has to be a part of that discussion, so it is understandable that it came up. But Hamilton’s future in terms of years left in the sport was not what was in question at the time.

There has been speculation that because his contract with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport is up at the end of the 2018 season, Hamilton may decide to retire at that time, or even before then, as there has also been speculation that he could quit at any moment.

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Here is what Hamilton had to say, according to Formula1.com, about not retiring within the next couple of seasons.

"“Matching Fangio could be quite cool, and being that I’m going to be here for at least another couple of years, that’s my goal – to at least try to get that.”"

After saying that he did not feel that he would be able to win as many championships as the great Michael Schumacher, the four-time champion did say that he does have a goal to tie the championship total of Juan Manuel Fangio, which is five. In saying this, he also said that he is “going to be here for at least another couple of years.”

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However, in reality, Lewis Hamilton only needs to win one more championship to tie Juan Manuel Fangio’s mark, so if he is able to do that in the 2018 Formula One season, which begins on Sunday, March 25th with the Australian Grand Prix, could that “couple of years” he is referring to actually be just one year with his contract with Mercedes expiring at the end of next season? It may be a little while until we know for certain.