Lewis Hamilton tipped to blitz Michael Schumacher as Sebastian Vettel concern grows

Last updated Dec 30, 2020

Lewis Hamilton can win 10 F1 Drivers’ Championships before retiring, Martin Brundle believes, The 35-year-old is currently on seven triumphs, the same amount Michael Schumacher managed throughout his career. But Brundle thinks more is to come.

Hamilton won a seventh F1 Drivers’ Championship back in November at the Turkish Grand Prix.

And, with a new contract with Mercedes close to being signed, it seems he has no plans to retire just yet.

Hamilton has now won six titles in the last seven years, with 2016 the only blotch on his record.

And Brundle thinks he can win 10 crowns before retiring, telling Sky Sports: “His eyesight, his reactions, nothing has fallen away.

“If you’re going to start fading, you’re on a gentle slope. And he doesn’t appear to have started that slope yet.

“Michael was in his 40s when he retired and he started making a lot of mistakes, and most of us did – you start having crashes at the end and you don’t know why that happened. That’s what it looks like Sebastian is to me, right now.

“Lewis has not got to that point, and nothing has been his match.”

He then added: “Who do you think will have the most resource and the best package in 2022?

“I think 10 championships and maybe 150 race victories is entirely doable.”

Brundle believes Hamilton will retire bang on time, avoiding the same mistake as the legendary Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher returned to the sport after giving it up but was never the same during his spell with McClaren.

And Brundle said: “My gut feeling is he’ll stop a year early rather than a year late.

“He’s not going to hang on until the bitter end for a few more dollars, or just to be a Formula 1 driver, and nor will he need to.

“He’s obviously got other ambitions in his life, but I can’t imagine why he would stop in the next five years, or certainly three. Why would he?”

Hamilton recently opened up on his ‘other ambitions’, saying he was ‘trying to find a balance’.

The 35-year-old said: “I’m trying to find a balance.

“I like to live life day-by-day because you just never know when your days are up.

“And I’ve had people pass in my life who have said ‘I was planning to do this and that and I ran out of time’. This year, I’d say more so than ever, there’s been a huge focus on the present.

“However, yeah, I generally like to be forward-thinking – I’m so excited about what the future holds. But also, as I get older, I’m aware things take so much time to put in place.

“So if there’s something I want to do, some things could take five to 10 years, maybe even more – I need to make sure I’m trying to strategically put the foundations in place now. But at the same time, [I’m] being present.

“I love my job, I love racing. [Even during] this difficult time, communicating with engineers and really trying to pick up on the nuances of what makes my sport and the technology we work with move.

“Everyone’s on high alert with this whole COVID [thing] – the whole working environment has shifted. But at the core of it is racing, which we all love. And I’m so grateful I get to do that.”

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Formula One Lewis Hamilton