Formula One's managing director of racing Ross Brawn believes Lewis Hamilton will not retire until he wins a record eighth world title.
Hamilton has endured a poor season so far by his standards, having only reached the podium once with a third-place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix. The 37-year-old currently sits sixth in the Drivers' Championship standings, 68 points behind current leader Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton is also behind his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who has finished ahead of him in four out of the five races so far this season. Despite Hamilton's struggles, Brawn believes he will not retire for at least another year.
"Amid all the glitz and the glamour, you still have a very determined racing driver," Brawn told the Evening Standard. "He's still supremely fit and capable.
"I'm pretty certain he wants to win that eighth championship and, if not this year as looks likely, then next year. I don't know enough about what Mercedes' issues are to know if they can be fixed with the concept of car they have or whether they have to review the concept.
"They'll sort it out I'm sure… but it's obviously very fragile what they're dealing with." Brawn was Hamilton's team boss at Mercedes for one season in 2013, having helped convince the Brit to leave McLaren and join the team.
And he believes the way Hamilton has driven so far is indicative of why he has been so successful over the years, claiming those that believe Russell has "outqualified and outraced" Hamiltion simply "can't see the bigger picture.
Brawn added: "These first few races he's been looking for the solutions and, in doing so, he's been ping-ponging around with different set-ups on the car, trying to reach the solutions. He's probably sacrificing the races in a way to try to get the information and data that the team can use to solve the problem.
"That's the feedback I get from the team while George is following a more conventional path… and Lewis is trying to set out to solve the problem. That's why I think people saying George has outqualified and outraced him in the last few races can't see the bigger picture."
