Lewis Hamilton's theory on his and Fernando Alonso's career longevity in F1 compared to drivers in the past

Lewis Hamilton feels that improved training methods, nutritional knowledge, and other similar factors have helped him and Fernando Alonso stay competitive this far into their careers. Hamilton is close to 40, while Alonso has crossed 40 years of age, but both drivers are still considered to be among the best drivers on the grid.

With Lewis Hamilton's contract up for renewal, questions have been raised over his future in the sport. While his performances have not really seen a massive dip, the machinery has taken a step back, and that has been a cause for concern. Having said that, Lewis Hamilton has assured that he's hoping to continue in F1 for the long term.

When questioned by the media if both he and Fernando Alonso could be racing in their 50s, the Mercedes driver laughed and told racingnews365:

"You can never say never. Brad [Pitt] is going to be racing in the movie in his 50s, so I'll be the third oldest driver! There's a lot of people out there like [NFL great Tom Brady], there is different ways you can train, how you eat, how you focus."

He added:

"Technology and our bodies are shifting and it is just about the mentality and whether or not you still have the drive to sacrifice the same amount as you did when you first started. I pretty much do, so I can't speak for Fernando, but he's done a great job and I'm looking forward to hopefully more great fights moving forwards."

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Lewis Hamilton stresses on how 'recovery' has been a major overall boost for him

F1 Grand Prix of Miami

When it comes to career longevity, Lewis Hamilton feels recovery has played a major role. Talking about how that particular aspect of his training has improved, he said:

"Now my recovery is better because I'm more focused on recovery than I ever was, [even] when I was 22. I wasn't focused on recovery, I didn't even know anything about recovery. I was just leaving [the track] going home and probably having a pizza, not knowing what I needed to do the next day for recovery. I didn't have any specialists around me to help navigate that, I had a physio but we didn't do a huge amount."

He added:

"We did some training together. We did some swimming together. But otherwise, I didn't have all the details of what to eat, how to replenish the liquids you lose, stretching and all those different things. I wasn't doing that back then. But also, I don't know if those drivers back in the day were that fit, so they probably fell off more than us because we train a lot more than they did."

Lewis Hamilton's contract with Mercedes has still not been signed. There were even rumors of a possible switch with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. However, at the moment there's no evidence of either as the wait continues.