Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton yesterday emphatically put to bed any concerns that he wanted to leave Mercedes, saying he planned to be the team “till my last days”.
The Briton’s disappointment after the season-opening grand prix in Bahrain, where he finished a distant fifth in his under-performing W14 car, led to claims that he was set to seek a move elsewhere.
He insisted that was not the case after a more competitive race in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago. And to make it crystal clear, the 38-year-old said ahead of the Australian Grand Prix that he wanted to finish his career with the once all-conquering Silver Arrows. “I feel amazing about it (the future), I continue to feel very, very much at home, it’s a family,” he said in Melbourne of remaining with a team that has been his home for a decade.
“I see myself being with Mercedes till my last days.
“If you look at the legends, Sir Stirling Moss was with Mercedes till the end of his days, and that’s been the dream for me, to one day have that. I mean, I have that, so just continue on with that, continue to build with the brand.”
Hamilton’s first race for Mercedes was in Melbourne in 2013, and he has since delivered them an unprecedented 82 wins and 77 pole positions.
He said he had “amazing allies” within the team and “great relationships here”.
“I think for me personally, just so long as I continue to help the team, as long as I can continue to help drive the team forward, to contribute, then that’s why I want to stay. If there’s ever a point where I feel like I’m not able to do that then it’s time for a youngster to come in. But I’m still feeling pretty young and in decent shape.”

Hamilton praises Brazil for fining Piquet
Hamilton yesterday applauded the hefty fine imposed on three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet for racist remarks about the British driver, saying people “full of hate” should not be tolerated.
Piquet was fined US$945,000 last weekend for calling Hamilton “neguinho” (“little black”) in a 2021 interview.
In handing down its judgement, a court in Brasilia ruled that the “intolerable” remarks constituted a “serious offence to the fundamental values of society”.
World champion in 1981, 1983 and 1987, Piquet used the term while criticising Hamilton’s role in a clash with Max Verstappen, his daughter Kelly’s boyfriend, at the British Grand Prix the same year. Seven-time world champion Hamilton praised Brazil for its action.
“I still believe that we generally shouldn’t be giving people that are just full of hate a platform,” he said in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. “I’d like to acknowledge the Brazil government, I think it’s pretty amazing what they’ve done in holding someone accountable, showing people that that is not tolerated.
“Racism and homophobia is not acceptable, and there is no place for it within our society. So I love that they’ve shown that they stand for something.”
Piquet, 70, was fined for “collective moral damages” with the money being donated to groups fighting against discrimination.
He had issued an apology, saying his words were wrong but that he did not intend to offend.
However, the court was not convinced, ruling that “the absence of intention could not justify discriminatory behaviour towards minorities”.

Mercedes sees ‘promising’ signs
A cautiously optimistic Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the team has made “promising” progress since the first two Grand Prix of the season, with another solid points haul on his wish list for Melbourne this weekend.
On the high-speed, power-friendly Jeddah track a fortnight ago, there were distinct signs of life as Mercedes left Ferrari floundering, with George Russell finishing fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth.
It was a clear improvement from the season-opening race in Bahrain, where they offered little competition to the Ferrari, Aston Martin or victorious Red Bull teams.
While they remain well adrift of the dominant Red Bull team, Wolff said their W14 car was improving. “The progress we saw in Saudi Arabia was encouraging. We maximised the package we had and scored some solid points,” he said late Wednesday.
“More importantly, we continued to learn and understand more about the W14 and our development direction.
Everyone back at base has been hard at work to turn these learnings into performance.”
“The signs we are seeing back at the factory are promising,” he added.
“We have got to take it step by step, though, and won’t get carried away until we see performance translated into lap time on track.”
Mercedes won eight successive constructors’ titles before Red Bull claimed the crown last year, with seven-time world champion Hamilton currently enduring the longest winless run of his record-breaking career.