Hamilton hints at when he’ll retire despite Mercedes contract talks

Lewis Hamilton has come clean on when it will be ‘time to panic’ in his F1 career as the Mercedes veteran closes in on his 38th birthday. Ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, Hamilton revealed that he has his sights set on a new multi-year deal with the Silver Arrows that could keep him racing into his forties. There was talk of the Brit walking away from the sport in 2021 after ending up on the wrong side of a breathless world title battle with Max Verstappen. Former FIA race director Michael Masi was eventually sacked for his role in a dramatic finale that decided the championship in Abu Dhabi.To rub salt into Mercedes wounds, Red Bull were recently found to have breached last season’s £114million spending cap. Rather than strip the team of points, which could have handed Hamilton last year’s title after all, the FIA slapped them with a £6m fine and a reduction in wind tunnel time. Despite the controversies that have seemingly gone against Hamilton, he appears to have become even more focused amid talk of a ‘multi-year contract’ with Mercedes in a bid to knock Red Bull off top spot. DON’T MISS: Red Bull boss Christian Horner blasted for cost cap speech as McLaren feud reignites Lewis Hamilton admitted that it’ll be ‘time to panic’ when his reaction times dwindle (Image: GETTY)The seven-time world champion’s contract admission suggests that he still has plenty left in the tank, but he recently admitted that when his reactions and concentration levels start to naturally dwindle with age, it’ll be time to ‘panic’. “It is really about state of mind,” he said, per GP Fans. “I don’t feel old but if you look at yourself in a mirror every day and tell yourself you are old, that is probably how you are going to feel. I don’t feel old at all, I feel young. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have exhibited strong pace so far in Mexico (Image: GETTY)So far, there are no signs of panic in Mexico, where Mercedes have put in strong practice showings ahead of qualifying on Saturday. Hamilton is still on an unprecedented streak of winning a Grand Prix in every year of his career but, as he’s winless in 2022, he has three more races to keep the run alive. It looked as though he would finally put one on the board in Austin last weekend when he pounced on a slow Red Bull pit stop to take the lead of the race. But Verstappen took advantage of his superior straight-line speed to breeze past and notch his 13th victory of the season.