Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has forcefully pushed back against growing speculation that he is poised to announce his retirement from the sport, confirming that his contract with Ferrari keeps him competing through the 2027 season and signaling he has no plans to step away from the grid any time soon.
Hamilton, the most decorated driver in F1 history who turned 41 earlier this year and will turn 42 in January 2026, made the remarks to reporters at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the same track where he claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory all the way back in his 2007 debut season with McLaren. Since his high-profile move from Mercedes to Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season, the British driver has yet to cross the finish line first for the iconic Italian squad – a dry spell that has fueled endless outsider discussion about when he might call time on his legendary career.
Addressing those rumors directly at Thursday’s pre-race press conference, Hamilton made his stance unambiguous. “I’m still under contract so everything’s 100 per cent clear to me,” he said. “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. There are a lot of people that are trying to retire me and that’s not even in my thoughts.”
As the sport’s all-time leader in both race wins (105) and pole positions (104), Hamilton has redefined what success looks like for a modern F1 driver. But in Montreal, the 41-year-old explained that his personal definition of achievement has shifted far beyond the trophy cabinet and record books that made him a global name. His most recent race victory came at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, but Hamilton says he no longer measures his progress purely by results.
“From the outside world results are what people call success, but I think internally, for me, it’s just progress,” he explained. “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.”
Beyond addressing retirement speculation, Hamilton also opened up about a strategic adjustment he has made for this weekend’s race in Canada: he has opted to skip pre-event simulator work at Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters, a step away from the standard preparation routine most drivers follow ahead of every Grand Prix. Hamilton noted he made the same call ahead of this year’s Chinese Grand Prix, where he claimed his first podium finish for Ferrari with a third-place result – his strongest performance of the 2025 season to date.
He explained that simulator data often does not align with actual on-track conditions, forcing drivers to unlearn the setup adjustments they settled on in the virtual environment ahead of arriving at the circuit. “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.”