MONTREAL – Lewis Hamilton spoke out against Formula One retirement speculation on Thursday and said he had a contract at Ferrari for 2027 and would be around for some time.
The seven-times world champion has yet to win a race for the Italian team since joining from Mercedes last year and will be 42 next January.
“I’m still under contract so everything’s 100% clear to me,” the Briton told a press conference at the Canadian Grand Prix when asked about next season.
“I’m still focused, I’m still motivated. I still love what I do with all my heart and I’m going to be here for quite some time, so get used to it.”
Hamilton added that there were “a lot of people that are trying to retire me and that’s not even in my thoughts”.
The Briton is the most successful F1 driver of all time with a record 105 wins and 104 pole positions.
The first of those victories came at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in his debut 2007 season with McLaren.
His most recent was in Belgium in 2024.
“From the outside world results are what people call success, but I think internally, for me, it’s just progress,” Hamilton said.
“If you’re progressing, then you’re succeeding. I don’t really put a lot of pressure on.
“I’ve always said I’m really grateful for the records and those sorts of things, but they’re not things I ever think of.”
Hamilton also revealed a change in approach for the Canadian weekend, saying he had decided not to spend time in the simulator at Maranello.
He said he had not used it before the Chinese Grand Prix either and that race had been his best this year, with third place and his first Ferrari podium.
“You find a setup (in the simulator) that you’re comfortable with, you get to the track and everything’s opposite. So then you’re undoing the things you’ve learned,” he said.
“So it’s kind of hit and miss. I just decided, for this one, I’m just going to sit it out and focus more on the data.”
