Close to retirement? Hamilton spoke to Serena Williams and Michael Jordan about the topic

Currently 39 years old, Lewis Hamilton He even said, in 2021, that he had plans to retire from Formula 1 before he reached 40, but it seems that things have changed.

However, the driver signed a contract with Ferrari in January this year, and will race for the Italian team in 2025 and 2026, when he will be 41 years old.

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In an interview with GQ magazine, the Brit revealed that he spoke to sports personalities before defining his future in motorsport. Some of them are none other than former tennis player Serena Williams and former NBA player Michael Jordan.

“I’ve talked to so many incredible athletes, from Boris Becker to Serena Williams, even Michael Jordan, who are retired and some who are still competing, and the fear that’s coming (after sport),” Hamilton said. “A lot of them said, ‘I stopped too soon.’ Or: ‘I stayed too long’. ‘When it was over, I had nothing planned.’ ‘My world fell apart because my life revolved around this sport,’” said the driver.

Talking to athletes and former athletes helped Hamilton reflect on the next steps in his career and rethink retirement at age 40. “I’m training harder than ever, more physically prepared than ever. I am excited about the present, knowing that nothing beyond this is promised.”

The pilot also revealed that the conversation helped him know how to prepare for retirement, and one of the ways is to find other things that he enjoys doing. When asked in the interview what could replace racing in his life, he replied: “I think it will be cinema and fashion.”

Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion and says goodbye to Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season. In his Formula 1 career, he has 103 victories, 104 pole positions and 197 podiums over 335 GPs contested to date.