Hamilton: 'I’m not in a relationship, don’t have kids, car is my baby'
Hamilton was denied the feat in hugely controversial circumstances when a mishandled Safety Car period in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix enabled Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to clinch last year’s crown.
The seven-time world champion hoped to fight back in 2022 but Mercedes’ troubled season has left him winless and out of title contention, while Verstappen has gone on to claim a second world championship in dominant fashion.
Hamilton, whose existing F1 contract expires at the end of 2023, made it clear at this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix that he plans to sign a new “multi-year” renewal with Mercedes.
“I am not in a relationship, I don’t have kids, my car is my baby,” Hamilton is quoted by The Independent.
The 37-year-old added: “If we'd have a year like last year and we were competing at the front all year, who knows where I would be?
"Each year you have to ask yourself if you're willing to give as much if not more than you did when you first started. Are you willing to give up all your time to prepare and train and work with the team and deliver?
"If there's ever a moment that I'm arriving and I'm just coasting along, then that's when I don't belong here, and don't deserve the position here, and that's when I should stop.
“I question myself as to whether I'm able to do that and whether I want to do that, and the answer is yes.
"We obviously have a championship that we need to get back, and I love the mission and that challenge with my team.”
Hamilton remains determined to wrestle back supremacy from Verstappen and believes the challenges faced by Mercedes will make returning to the top even more satisfying.
"It's been beautiful to see the journey that everyone individually has gone on, but also collectively how we’ve gelled together, pooled together, pulled up closer to each other, been more open," he explained.
“With a room really full of men most often, them showing more of their vulnerability, that’s been a really interesting process, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.
“I can’t wait for the time that we get back to success, that we finally get that win and we get that championship. It’s going to make all these tough moments worthwhile.”
