Lewis Hamilton’s glittering F1 career may have reached its twilight stage, but the legendary Brit may keep racing in other disciplines after parting ways with Ferrari.
The Stevenage-born racer has achieved everything that a driver could wish for since making his debut with McLaren in 2007. Hamilton has seven World Championships, 105 Grand Prix victories, 104 pole positions, and 202 podiums to his name in 356 F1 race starts.
However, at 40, the Brit is heading into the final few years of his time in the series. While it is not uncommon for drivers in other categories to race into their fifties, modern F1 stars usually retire before this age, with the 43-year-old Fernando Alonso very much a statistical outlier.
Even if Hamilton does call time on his F1 career in the near future, the Brit may elect to continue racing. He has previously expressed interest in experimenting with NASCAR Cup Series, IndyCar and MotoGP machinery.
“I did a car swap with Tony Stewart years ago, which was fun,” Hamilton told NBC in 2023, discussing his interest in NASCAR. “I’d love to try it at some stage. It’s not a dream for me to go race another series, but I am an admirer. I’m a fan of racing and other sports. So I would like to try it.”
He added: “I’d love to swap with Valentino Rossi and try MotoGP. I sometimes watch IndyCar and would love to try one of those at some stage. But right now, my focus is solely on Formula One, and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.”
If Hamilton does complete a miraculous post-F1 switch to NASCAR, he’ll follow in the footsteps of former McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, who made three appearances for Rick Ware Racing in 2023. Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, also made two appearances in Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 machine.
Hamilton is far from the only F1 driver to show interest in racing in the world’s premier stock car series. Recently-axed VCARB racer Daniel Ricciardo’s No.3 is a homage to seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, while Oscar Piastri has been discussing opportunities with Zak Brown.
As for his MotoGP interest, Hamilton has even looked into buying a team. “I’ve always loved MotoGP,” he said at the British Grand Prix earlier this season. “I’m interested in the potential growth of the sport, but I haven’t looked that far into it just yet
“But anything is possible. I’m definitely interested, as I said before, about equity and the [Denver] Broncos was already a first step into team ownership. And so, I think over the next five to ten years, there will be a little bit more. We’ll see.”
