Having achieved everything that there was to achieve on the circuit, Lewis Hamilton is still going strong and with the switch to Ferrari, there is a revitalized excitement around his name. However, there is also a bigger realization that the 40-year-old is in the twilight stage of his career. However, much to the delight of the fans, the 7-time Formula One champion does not plan on walking away from the game any time soon.
The seven-time world champion is already F1's most successful driver, but he has made a dramatic switch from Mercedes to Ferrari in the hopes of accomplishing a feat that has so far eluded him.
Hamilton has not been able to compete for a world title since controversially missing out on what would have been a record eighth drivers' championship in the notorious 2021 Abu Dhabi finale, but he thinks a transfer to Ferrari will change that.
“If I was fortunate enough to win another title, which is obviously what we’re setting out to do, I don’t see myself stopping,” Hamilton told media including Crash.net.
The 40-year-old Briton is confident Ferrari are ready to end their 17-year drought for an F1 title, simply stating “yes” when asked that very question.
“I’ve worked with two world championship winning teams before and I know what a winning team looks like,” Hamilton continued.
“The passion here is like nothing you’ve ever seen, they’ve got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship and it’s just about putting all the pieces together.
“We’ve got a great leader in Fred [Vasseur, team principal], and John [Elkann, Ferrari chairman], and Benedetto [Vigna, Ferrari CEO].
“Everyone just has a really calm and good approach. No one is like ‘we’re perfect in every single area’. Everyone knows we need to elevate in every single area and we’re leaving no stone untuned to try and do that.”
Hamilton, who drove Ferrari’s new 2025 car, the SF-25, on track for the first time in a shakedown at Fiorano on Wednesday, says he is more hopeful than ever of winning an eighth world championship.
“There’s a lot of drivers that never get to win a championship,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to work in two teams previously, great organizations.
“You see in the history of the sport sometimes you have great teams and they don’t align, some of them don’t end up winning championships.
“But this team already has an insane legacy and they are not short of how many world championships they’ve won.
“I think in their DNA they have that winning mentally.
“The competition is fierce and you’ve had great results from other iconic teams like McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes. It’’s going to be close at the top but I’ve got a great teammate.
“The energy that I’ve seen from the team, there’s magic here. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and grafting from everyone, and everyone is putting everything in already to achieve it.
“But it’s also about belief. Everyone here dreams of winning with Ferrari. Every single person in this team.”