Hamilton only has a one-year deal with Mercedes and there has inevitably been much speculation that he will step down in late 2021, especially if he wins a record world championship.
Hamilton himself has insisted that he has not made a decision and that it will not be affected by the outcome of this year’s title fight that he is currently fighting.
He was also recently involved in Pirelli’s 18-inch tire testing program and has spoken with some enthusiasm about the challenge of rule changes for 2022.
In a call with Wall Street analysts, asked about the potential impact of the sport’s biggest star retiring, Domenicali insisted that F1 keep going whenever top drivers stop running.
“Lewis Hamilton is definitely a great asset,” said the Italian. “He’s doing an incredible job on the sporting side in terms of image. He was able to develop F1 in other areas that weren’t really F1 related.”
“But F1 itself is strong and drivers, Masters, are always in a place where they could one day retire.
“I don’t know what Lewis is doing, we’re going to talk to him, but now that he’s focused on his current season he’s of course fully stocked up to make sure he’s the only driver to win eight.” Title in the history of F1.
“But you know F1 is solid, robust and safe, whatever Lewis’s decision will be, F1 will react and move forward.
“The good news is that if we stay, as we all hope, Lewis will have an amazing season with the new cars ahead of us, with a new challenge, and that could certainly be very interesting for him.
“If he changes his mind, the good news is that we have so many good drivers in F1 today that at least the challenge, the chance, will be even greater.”
“So we will of course respect Lewis’s decision. But F1 is really solid and strong.”
The post “Robust” F1 will survive Hamilton’s resignation first appeared on monter-une-startup.
