Lewis Hamilton was compared to Cristiano Ronaldo as his team boss Toto Wolff discussed what the future holds for his star driver.
Hamilton will have turned 39 by the start of next season, assuming he chooses not to retire from Formula 1. And that won't even make him the oldest racer on the grid, as Fernando Alonso will be 42 and, given Aston Martin's rise to prominence, possibly competing for race wins and maybe even the championship.
Both of them have maintained remarkable physical fitness to be able to continue racing at such a high level. In the eyes of Mercedes team principal Wolff, that puts Hamilton and Alonso in the same category as some of the other sporting legends who have shown such longevity.
"Fernando has shown that at 41 he is still very strong," the Austrian told DAZN. "I think they are breaking barriers." And Wolff went on to list some of the sporting icons he feels Hamilton and Alonso are on par with in that regard.
He added: "We can see sportsmen like Tom Brady or LeBron James, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, Lewis, who will reach beyond 40. And I think if you continue to improve, if you know how to live your best life, lead a good nutrition, train and focus, you can stay longer."
Hamilton has signalled his intention to continue racing for Mercedes, while Wolff has been open about wanting the seven-time world champion to remain. An extension was expected to come over the winter off-season, but it never materialised.
But the Austrian insists he has no concerns about it, despite the lack of progress made in negotiations. Speaking to reporters in Miami last weekend, he made clear his faith that Hamilton will eventually sign fresh terms – explaining that the delay is because there is simply no need to rush things.
He said: "It's 11 years that we've been together. Every single time when we talk about Lewis's contract, it takes months of, 'Where we are? What is happening?' And we keep saying the same thing: that it is rolling on.
"There's not any difficult contract negotiations, it's just putting different numbers in there and that's what we're doing and we're working on this. It's a work in progress, bouncing emails back and forth and eventually we're going to sign it."
