Personally, I think he'll stay. Perhaps it's a negotiating ploy? Hamilton could retire 'end of this year' | PlanetF1 : PlanetF1
How well would that negotiation ploy work out do you reckon? Not very well, Verstappen/Ricciardo/Alonso will be in that seat before Elton can say ''think about it''.
Pure speculation on my part. Maybe he feels he's banked enough party money for the rest of his life. We'll see.
Hamilton leaves Mercedes and than that's it. It's over for him. He will never be able to return to the sport if he has a change of heart in the future. No team will be able to put up with his BS. He will end his career in F1 with Mercedes. Now, if it's at the end of this year or another year that's meant to be seen.
Lewis Hamilton 'not thinking' about when he will retire from F1 Lewis says he doesn't know when he'll stop racing in F1 after earlier quotes implied he could even quit as early as the end of this year. He still hasn't ruled out a drive for Ferrari, and is very complimentary towards the brand (but he says nothing about his fans on this site!) Lewis Hamilton 'not thinking' about when he will retire from F1 | F1 News
An attention whore like him (also obsessed with living like a king), won't retire willingly IMO. Therefore, he must be using that as a negotiation tool. He should leave the negotiation to somebody else, and just shut up. He's like a certain person that just runs his mouth and makes matters worse. It'd make me very happy if he just disappears, but I very much doubt it'd be anytime soon. We'll see.
He is too young to quit, IMO, and has plenty of good years in front of him; at least until the end of this formula when Mercedes might pull out. I cannot see Hamilton driving for another team than Mercedes though ...
+1 Too many drivers around of his talent to fill his spot. Ricciardo, Verstappen, Vettel all 3 proven and will be in F1 for the foreseeable future. Alonso shorter term but still there. Leclerc, Ocon, 2 fantastic drivers with bright futures. Shock horror, the PR machine fixing his statement from yesterday...now where have I seen this before...Oh right! Prospect of his very own Kardashian TV show on E! or such **** must be tempting though
Ha ha. Yeah, he'd fit right in. Now that you mentioned it, I'm sure that's his next move. The good news is I'd never see him again. He he.
He's one the best pilots in F1 history. Despite some peoples ill wishes, he's here for a while and will retire with Ferrari.
I predict that Mercedes will see the end of this formula, and then pull out of F1. They may even get a couple more WDCs or WCCs before that, and will have achieved everything they set to win by then. I am wondering who will replace them among the big manufacturers.
There may be no more manufacturers per se. Like Indy Car they may become engine suppliers and let teams make their own cars. Ferrari will be the last hold out. So, what you'll get is engines made by Honda, Porsche, Renault, Mercedes, and Ferrari and maybe VW. Teams like Williams, RB, Haas, etc will design a car and just buy the engine of their choice. The advantage is clear if you look at Honda at Indy. They blew up 4 engines but won the race. No one remembers the cars that came in last but they know the car won with a Honda.
I don't think there could be many engine manufacturers in F1, or they wouldn't make any money. It's the economy of scale: you need to supply several teams (maybe 4 teams with 5 engines each minimum per year) to break even. Cosworth used to supply 90% of the grid; there was no limit in the number of engines then, and they were maintaining them all year round.
I do not see Hamilton retiring as long as he is in the best car with an inferior teammate. I can see him leaving if the car is not competitive or his teammate starts beating him regularly. I do not see Hamilton hanging on too long like may other drivers, I think he has other things he wants to do and I do not think he will want to damage his brand by being uncompetitive or beaten consistenty.
Surely they'll see sense and just hire either of the current Red Bull boys if Vettel leaves for whatever reason (not that I think that is likely).
I think he will stay with MB for 2018 if he is WDC this year. If he loses to Vettel i would not be surprised to see him at Ferrari in 2018, if he thinks Ferrari will have the best car for next year which is a difficult call of course. Lewis is very active on social media,so anything he says will register worldwide,which is mostly a positive for Brand Hamilton,and possibly for MB. Vettel is almost non existent on social media,he prefers to keep his private life private,fair enough.
About as well as: "Honey, I have spent some time thinking about divorce, what are your thoughts on the mater?"
