What is the biggest story in F1 right now? Future driver transfer market. With more than half of the grid running on expiring contracts, this year’s ‘stupid season’ will be one for the ages. Of course, everything kicked into high gear with the surprising news that seven-time drivers’ champion Lewis Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes at the end of the season to drive for Ferrari.
talk to GQHamilton spoke about his move to Ferrari, his final season with Mercedes and life after racing.
Hamilton sat down with Daniel Riley for the magazine’s annual “.creativity issues,”, referring to the shocking announcement ahead of the 2024 F1 season. “To be honest,” Hamilton told Reilly, “I don’t know. I do it every year.work with tommy [Hilfiger]. Win the world championship. Break records. So I had some other plans for the future.
When asked if he had announced his intention to move to Ferrari, Hamilton replied: “Yes. “I think it probably manifested itself more subconsciously from earlier in life. But it’s always been there for me. But for now, I’m just going to lift Mercedes as high as I can this year.”
As for how he will take the Silver Arrows to the highest possible heights in their final season, Hamilton pointed to the dedication he has always brought to the team and his vision for how the final season will unfold.
Hamilton said, “I don’t see my way of being as being on the way out. My commitment to the team is exactly the same as it was last year. I want to crush all the other teams. We want to crush them. I want to beat it. My approach remains the same until the end. And I can’t get too distracted by what happens after that. I can’t really take advantage of it until next year.”
Still, the driver is over 40 years old and questions about life after F1 follow him from track to track. As for his future, Hamilton wants to find the right time to walk away, and when he does, he plans to have a “mic drop” moment and turn to other passions.
“I’ve talked to a lot of great athletes, from Boris Becker to Serena Williams and even Michael Jordan,” Hamilton told Riley. “When I talk to some of the greats that I’ve met along the way, retired or still playing, I get this fear of what’s going to happen next, of not being ready for what’s next. Many of them said, “I quit too soon.” Or: “I stayed too long.” “I didn’t have any plans when it was over.” “My whole world had come crashing down because my whole life was in that sport.”
“Some of them were like, ‘I didn’t have a plan, and then I got really lost, so it was a little bit of a problem.’ There was this hole. Such a void. And I had no idea how to fill it in. And I was in such a hurry at first. to Try packing the wrong thing. And you make some mistakes. And in the end you find your own path. ” Some took longer. Some people took it shorter. But it got my mind thinking: So I got serious about finding other things I was passionate about.
“I went through a phase where I understood that I couldn’t keep racing forever,” Hamilton added. “Because if I quit, I’d drop the mic and be happy.
“The hard part is that I want to do it all,” he says with a laugh. “I’m very ambitious. But I understand that it can’t be done. In fact, I don’t believe in that word, so I take it back. you can’t. It takes 10,000 hours to master something. Obviously, I’ve done it in races. There just isn’t enough time to master all these different things. ”
What exactly does he plan to master after the race?
“Yes,” Hamilton said. “I think it’s going to be movies and fashion.”
You can read Hamilton’s full profile here. GQ yearlycreativity problem”
