Hamilton Vows to Race Into His Mid-40s and Prove the Doubters Wrong Again

Lewis Hamilton says he is unlike any driver Formula 1 has seen before and has reaffirmed his determination to keep racing into his mid-forties.

The seven-time world champion recently said he wanted to continue in the sport to fulfil a dream of racing in Africa, having campaigned for a Grand Prix there for years. F1 has signed a 10-year deal with Rwanda starting in the early 2030s the first race on the continent since 1993.

The Briton said F1 had "never had anyone like me in the 70 years" of the sport and that he felt “built differently.”

Hamilton will be at least 45 when that race takes place the same age as Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who continues next year but he told a news conference ahead of this weekend's Mexico Grand Prix that he should be considered a special case.

"Of course there are challenges up ahead that I can't foresee that come with age. But along this journey there have been so many pre-conceived ideas, like that your reaction time drops off," he said. “Did you see my reaction time in the last race? It was faster than some of the youngest people here.”

“As long as you are willing to sacrifice everything, which I am right now I can't say in four years whether I will want to continue doing what I'm doing but I am still all in. I will be for the foreseeable future.”

Hamilton is battling to finish second in the drivers' championship. The Ferrari driver is third, one point behind Mercedes' George Russell, five ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and eight ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. Runaway leader Kimi Antonelli 21 years Hamilton's junior is poised to clinch his first world title this weekend in Mexico City.

Hamilton struggled in his first season with Ferrari but has enjoyed a far stronger campaign this time, including victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in June. He said he has proven he can still compete at the highest level.

"Time will tell whether I'm here in the 2030s. I never want to overstay my welcome in the sense of not having the performance," he added. “I don't want to be driving around with that having really dropped off. Everyone assumed that last year and I have proved everyone wrong. I'll continue to try to do so.”