Valtteri Bottas believes his old team-mate Lewis Hamilton may be staying in Formula 1 so he can exact his revenge on Max Verstappen.
The Brit has made clear in the last couple of weeks his desire to continue racing beyond the expiry of his current contract at the end of next season. It most likely means Hamilton will still be in F1 beyond his 40th birthday, which represents a change of heart from his previous retirement plans.
Ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix at the end of last month, Hamilton confirmed explicitly that he plans to continue with Mercedes. The driver is expected to sit down with boss Toto Wolff for contract talks over the winter.
While admitting there are likely several reasons for Hamilton's decision, Bottas believes the controversial way in which he lost the 2021 title to Verstappen may be a key factor. "I think he's not satisfied with obviously the end of last year, and also this year," the former Mercedes racer told reporters.
"He seems like he is still enjoying it, and I think recently he's been back at his level again. Why not [stay]? He loves racing. Obviously, every driver is individual – I think it's a lot up to you, if you still want it, if you still want to be competitive, you can."
After Hamilton told reporters he would be seeking a "multi-year" deal with the Silver Arrows, Wolff expressed his desire for the Brit to follow in the footsteps of Tom Brady. The NFL icon won a Super Bowl in his 40s and this weekend broke the 100k passing yards mark in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' last-minute win over title-holders the LA Rams.
"You can see today's athletes pushing the boundaries in terms of age," said the Mercedes chief. "For me, Fernando [Alonso] is performing at a very high level and you look, for me, at the best athlete in the world – Tom Brady – on the field being tackled and throwing a ball at 45 years old.
"As long as you continue to look after yourself and your cognitive sensors, I think he has many more years in him. I'm pretty certain that's going to be case here in the team."
The Austrian added: ""We haven't started any talks. We want to definitely finish the season and then find some quiet time over the winter like we did last time around. He's much more than a driver to us now... it's also important to speak about his role as an ambassador for Mercedes and the many sponsors we have and the implication he can have in our wider universe."
