- Lewis Hamilton told reporters in Mexico City that F1 has “never had anyone like me” and that he is “built differently”, and the next day his Ferrari lost power in second practice.
- He would need to stay on the grid into his mid-40s to race the African Grand Prix planned for Rwanda from 2030 at the earliest, per Motorsport.com.
- Hamilton set one limit on his plans: he never wants to “overstay my welcome” without the performance.
Seven Titles, a 2030 Question and a Limit He Set Himself
“I feel that I’m built differently.”
Lewis Hamilton said it ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, in answer to a practical question. In October Formula 1 announced a plan for a race in Rwanda that will carry the African Grand Prix title from 2030 at the earliest, under a 10-year deal and subject to the track and infrastructure being finished. Hamilton pushed for F1 to return to Africa, and he was asked whether he can realistically expect to race in it.
He would be in his mid-40s by then, and he acknowledged it. His answer rested on a claim that F1 has “never had anyone like me here.” He is 41, a seven-time world champion, and the driver with the most wins and pole positions in F1 history.
What He Said About Age, Reaction Time and Sacrifice
Hamilton did not claim age is painless. “Of course, there are challenges up ahead that I can’t foresee, that come with age,” he said. He then went after the oldest assumption in the sport, the idea that a driver’s reactions fade.
He pointed to “so many preconceived ideas about the fact that your reaction time drops off.” Then he made his case. “Did you see my reaction in the last race? My reaction is faster than some of the youngest people here.”
The last race was the United States Grand Prix, where he finished fourth. The youngsters he means are close at hand. Kimi Antonelli is 20 and has won nine Grands Prix this season, and his title chance in Mexico City comes this weekend. Before the weekend began, Hamilton sat third in the standings, one point behind George Russell, and was one of only three drivers still in mathematical title contention (standings as of 29 October).
He said a driver has tools to keep his mind sharp “as long as you’re willing to sacrifice everything, which I am right now.”
He would not promise a date. “I can’t say in four years whether I want to continue to do what I’m doing, but I love what I’m doing still now,” Hamilton said. Then came the line that sums up his position: “I’m still all in and I will be for the foreseeable future.”
He also played with the numbers. “Whether or not I can compete at 44 with a 20-year-old, who knows? But at 41, I can compete with a 20-year-old.”
The Limit He Set for Himself
The confidence came with a condition. Hamilton made it clear he does not wish to remain in F1 once he can no longer perform at a competitive level. “But I never want to overstay my welcome, in the sense of not having the performance,” he said.
He spelled out what he wants to avoid. “I don’t want to be driving around with that [pace] really, really dropped off, my reaction dropped off, my drive dropped off. My pace is dropped off, which everyone has seen last year, but I’ve proved everyone wrong with that, and I’ll continue to try to do so.”
Hamilton referred to last year, when his pace dropped off, and said he proved everyone wrong. His second season with Ferrari brought a first win for the team and has put him third in the standings. He is signed to race for Ferrari in 2027, and his future beyond that is uncertain. Rwanda in 2030 sits well past the end of that deal.
Friday in Mexico City Tests the Claim
Before the weekend, Hamilton said he is treating the “next five races like test races” as he pushes Ferrari toward a car that can contend for the title next season. In first practice his SF-26 carried a large aero rake to gather data. Ferrari was the only team that did not field a rookie in that session, while 10 young drivers took part across the grid. Hamilton had wrestled with understeer in Austin after admitting a set-up mistake.
“Normally I would have one of the young drivers do FP1 at this track like most people did. But I opted to do it somewhere else,” Hamilton said. The rake work took up the first half of the session, and he completed 25 laps.
Second practice began well. Hamilton was quickest on the hard tire and sat among the top five until the car lost power on the start-finish straight after 28 minutes and stopped at the exit of Turn 3. He finished 11th. Charles Leclerc topped both Friday sessions.
“I was feeling really good in the car,” Hamilton said. “It’s just my luck. We did a really good job in getting the set-up in a better place and yeah, it’s just really unfortunate.”
He had lost most of the day. “I’ve only really had one session,” he said. When he spoke, the team was still looking for the cause. “They’re still investigating to find out what was wrong and just praying that everything’s OK.”
He reckoned the failure left him on the back foot, yet he stayed upbeat about the car. “I think I already had a loss of power earlier on in the lap and we’re still quick,” he said, and later added: “Underlying is a really good car this weekend.”
Ferrari’s Hopes, Leclerc and a Dispute About a Turbo
Hamilton rejected the label of early favorite. Russell said on Thursday that Mexico City’s thin air could give the Ferrari power unit, with its smaller turbo, “quite an advantage.” Hamilton disagreed. “I don’t really agree on the turbo thing,” he said. The Mercedes and the Red Bull are “still quick at the end of the straights, like they are every race,” and he put the Ferrari’s deficit there at “a good two or three tenths, but the car is behaving very well.”
His teammate Leclerc, whose place at Ferrari has been a running storyline, led both Friday sessions. Hamilton warned that rivals typically find extra pace in qualifying. “I think you never know how qualifying goes,” he said, adding that “we could be really close to beating them for Quali.” With no long run of his own, he said he will take note of how others did to guess at the wing and the settings for Sunday.
Mercedes leads Ferrari by 133 points in the constructors’ standings and can clinch that title this weekend.
Alonso at 45 and a Kind Word for Russell
Hamilton is not the oldest man on the grid. Fernando Alonso is 45 and committed to racing for Aston Martin in 2027, which gives Hamilton a clear example that staying until at least 2030 is possible. Alonso spent the build-up to Mexico in a row of his own, after a first-lap clash with Alex Albon in Texas, saying that “the quality of the drivers in the low third of the grid is very low.” He stood by it in Mexico.
Asked on Thursday about Russell, his former Mercedes teammate, Hamilton spoke about a season that began with Russell dominating the opening weekend in Australia. Antonelli then became the dominant force, and he leads Russell by 123 points. “I’m sure he’ll bounce back,” Hamilton said. “You know, every weekend he comes back and gives his best.”
Roscoe Beside Senna
Away from the garage, the Mexican Grand Prix organizers set up a Día de Muertos display in the paddock in memory of late F1 figures. The holiday falls on the same weekend as the race. Hamilton’s late bulldog Roscoe is part of it, with his photo in the center of one display, underneath Ayrton Senna. Enzo Ferrari, Jack Brabham, Juan Manuel Fangio, James Hunt, Patrick Depailler, Pedro Rodríguez and Jean-Marie Balestre appear alongside them.
The displays sit under arches of orange marigolds and are lined with candles and black-and-white portraits. Traditionally, families build altars for loved ones who have died, and it is common to include pets. Fans were quick to praise the tribute on social media.
What Comes Next
Qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday will show whether the Ferrari is as quick as Hamilton believes and whether his power unit holds. The Brazilian Grand Prix follows next week, then a final triple-header in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Hamilton is signed for 2027, and his stated ambition runs well beyond it. The African Grand Prix arrives in 2030 at the earliest, and he has called the next five races test races. The car he helps build in them is the one he will need if “built differently” is to hold up.
