Hamilton claims he's 'five, six years left' of racing

Johannesburg [South Africa], July 22 (ANI): Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has claimed that he has five to six more years left of his racing career before he would turn his attention to life away from Formula One.

After Hamilton slashed down the driver's championship gap to one point following a victory at the British Grand Prix, the Briton had refused to rule out retirement any time soon.

Hamilton had said that he did not know "what was going to happen" in six months from now.

However, the 32-year-old now said that he sees himself as racing driver for few more years to come.

"I've got five, six years left of my career in racing. And after that I want to avoid becoming a commentator or a manager," Sport24 quoted Hamilton as saying.

"[Then] I'm just going to continue to explore [my options]. And I guess it will come to me, what I'll do beyond my sport. I like creating with people, so having my own [clothing] line is hard to imagine.But doing capsule collections with different artists, I can imagine that. I think that would be kind of neat," he added.

Hamilton also added that he had now realized with time that winning is not everything and that the strength which one gets after losing a race also plays an important role.

"One time I didn't leave my hotel room for four days, I was so stuck in my head. But now, with maturity and age, I've realized that winning isn't everything. So while winning is definitely the ultimate goal, the lessons learned when I don't win only strengthen me," he said.

Hamilton is currently standing at the second spot in F1 standings, just a point behind four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel following 10 races. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI