After agreeing a move to Ferrari for 2025 on a multi-year deal, Hamilton will add another chapter to his career and race on until at least his early 40s, but the Briton is also thinking about what could follow when he eventually steps out of the cockpit.
In a wide-ranging interview with GQ Magazine, Hamilton shared why other interests have become so important to him alongside his racing career, how they have helped him perform on-track and his plans for the long-term.
“When I first got into Formula 1, it was wake up, train, racing-racing-racing-racing, nothing else,” said Hamilton. “There’s no space for anything else. But what I realised is that just working all the time doesn’t bring you happiness, and you need to find a balance in life. And I found out that I was actually quite unhappy.
He continued: “It’s almost like being in a snowglobe – that’s the racing world. And there’s so much more outside of it that you just don’t have time to explore. I think if you go to an office every day and do the same process every single day, eventually you just zone out. You have to find something else that can soothe you, can keep your mind going.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton revealed what top-level athletes from a range of other sports such as tennis and basketball have told him when it comes to retiring at the right time and having suitable projects to fill the void.
“I’d spoken to so many amazing athletes, from Boris Becker to Serena Williams, even Michael Jordan,” he commented. “Talking to greats that I’ve met along the way, who are retired – or some that are still in competition – and the fear of what’s next, the lack of preparation for what’s next.
“A lot of them said: ‘I stopped too early.’ Or: ‘Stayed too long’. ‘When it ended, I didn’t have anything planned’. ‘My whole world came crashing down because my whole life has been about that sport’.
As for the passions that will take over when he steps away from F1, while he “wants to do everything”, Hamilton pointed to film and fashion being the focus areas, having recently set up his own production company, Dawn Apollo Films, and worked on collections with legendary designer Tommy Hilfiger.
“I’m very ambitious,” he said. “But I understand that you can’t do – actually, I take that back because I don’t believe in the word can’t. To be a master at something, there’s the 10,000 hours it takes. Obviously, I’ve done that in racing. There’s not enough time to master all of these different things.”
Indeed, Hamilton and his company are working with F1 and Apple Original Films on an upcoming, untitled movie about the sport, with Brad Pitt starring in one of the lead roles, Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) directing and Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman (Top Gun: Maverick and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) serving as producers.
