Toto Wolff has admitted he has already spoken to Lewis Hamilton about the seven-time champion’s retirement plans. The Mercedes boss said the pair discussed how long the partnership between Hamilton and Mercedes could continue after wild speculation over when he could leave F1.
Hamilton’s current Mercedes deal expires at the end of the 2023 season meaning he only has a year-and-a-half left. With Mercedes struggling to match the pace of the frontrunners and Hamilton finding himself in midfield battles, many pundits have claimed he could be set to walk out.
However, Wolff claimed the pair discussed continuing for more than five years which could see Hamilton continue until past the age of 40. The Austrian team principal even claimed the Mercedes driver could break records for entering the highest number of F1 races and even win more titles.
He said: “We talked a few weeks ago about how long a partnership can go and the figure discussed was about five to 10 years, so I think we can go to 400 [races]. Someone said you have to win the eighth [world title], so why not 10?”
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton ‘driving in anger’ as Wolff explains French GP concerns
“If there’s ever a point that I feel that I don’t want to commit the time or the effort, the mental time and energy that it takes, that will be the time for me to stop. I don’t plan to be here till I’m 40. I hope I have something else exciting to do beyond but regardless, no matter what time I stop, I’m going to miss this sport.”
Hamilton joins F1 legends such as Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher in starting 300 F1 races this weekend. Kimi Raikkonen holds the current record with 350 starts but Hamilton could break this in another two seasons in the sport.
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