Lewis Hamilton is ‘not ready to give up’ on eighth F1 title as retirement talk continues

Lewis Hamilton is ‘not ready to give up’ trying to secure an eighth F1 world championship, according to Channel 4 commentator Ben Edwards. He believes competing in F1 ‘still matters hugely’ to Hamilton despite a poor start to the campaign.

When asked whether Hamilton still wants to continue in F1 to secure the eighth world title which eluded him last year, Edwards replied: “Yeah, I do think he wants it and I don’t think he is ready to give it up.” He was also responding to Hamilton’s call to retire from last week’s Spanish Grand Prix after an early accident.

The seven-time champion asked to quit the race to save the engine but his team motivated him to continue in a bid to score some points. It left David Coulthard to ponder whether Hamilton was waving the ‘white flag’ after a difficult set of circumstances.

However, Edwards claims Hamilton’s call was not ‘unusual’ and feels the Briton still wants to drive in F1.

READ MORE: Nico Rosberg shares Lewis Hamilton’s thoughts on beating Russell

Hamilton addressed retirement rumours directly ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. Speaking to Italian publication Corriere Della Sera, the Mercedes star said: “I probably won’t win the title, but I feel the same pleasure of competing as when I started.

“Why should I stop? Maybe one day I won’t be able to take the pressure anymore, I’ll be tired, but that day hasn’t come yet.” Former team-mate Nico Rosberg also claimed Mercedes insiders had said Hamilton is still as motivated to drive as ever.

The 2016 champion explained: “I’ve spoken to some people within Mercedes and they’ve been very positive about him.

“He’s super motivated, really pushing hard and let’s not forget he hates coming second. He does not want to come second to Russell and that alone is a big motivator for Lewis.”