"Get used to it" - Lewis Hamilton sends defiant message over Ferrari F1 future

Lewis Hamilton has issued a defiant statement regarding his Formula 1 future, insisting he will “be here for quite some time”.

The future of Hamilton continues to be in the spotlight amid his fluctuating form since joining Ferrari, despite the seven-time world champion signing a multi-year deal and indicating last season that he has a contract in place for 2027.

Hamilton endured a torrid first season with Ferrari after completing a blockbuster switch from Mercedes, but he appears reenergised in 2026 and has made an encouraging start to his second campaign in red.

He finished fourth in the opening round in Australia and followed that up by taking a long-awaited maiden Ferrari podium in China. However, Hamilton was beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc at the last two races in Japan and Miami (on the road).

There has been wild speculation in recent weeks that Hamilton is preparing to announce his retirement, but the 41-year-old Briton insisted that is not the case and that he plans to be around for some time yet.

“I'm still in contract so everything's 100% clear to me,” Hamilton said.

“I'm still focused I'm still motivated I still love what I do with all my heart and you know I'm gonna be here for quite some time, so get used to it.

“There's a lot of people that are trying to retire me and that's not even on my thoughts. I'm already thinking of what will be next and planning for like the next five years. I'm still planning to be here for some time.”

Hamilton’s comment about “people trying to retire me” appeared to be a pointed dig at several former drivers and pundits who have suggested it is time for him to hang up his helmet.

Speaking about Ferrari’s prospects at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton said: “Hopefully a better weekend, I think there's a lot of learnings taken from the first races and particularly from the last race.

"There's been a huge amount of work, which I'm really grateful for. All the team back at the factory are working incredibly hard to try and analyse where we've been good, where we've not been so good and we've adjusted processes and approach.

“So I'm hoping that we're able to extract more from the car because I still think we're still trying to extract the most from the package that we have and then also just being realistic of where we stand currently compared to Mercedes, for example.

“But lots can happen so it's just about trying to extract the most from the car this weekend.”

Hamilton arrives in Montreal level with the great Michael Schumacher for the most Canadian Grand Prix victories, with the pair sitting on seven wins each.

However, Hamilton has downplayed the notion he could break that record this weekend.

“I mean it probably adjusts each weekend,” he said of the pecking order. “Obviously Mercedes are at the top.

"McLaren looked incredibly strong last week, last race as well. They took a good step and Red Bull have made a huge step. So I think we're kind of in and around McLaren and Red Bull I'd say. Which order that it is, we’ll see.

“Mercedes have a big upgrade this weekend. Even without an upgrade they were very quick in the last race and still won the last race. So our focus is just going to be on ourselves and just trying to optimise.

"For me, I’m really excited to hopefully have a better weekend.”