Lewis Hamilton says standing with Sebastian Vettel on social issues have been 'some of the proudest moments' of his F1 career

Lewis Hamilton has shared his appreciation for Sebastian Vettel, who recently announced that he will be retiring from F1 at the end of the 2022 season.

Hamilton praised Vettel for constantly being a strong voice against social issues that the Briton himself is working hard to tackle. The two drivers not only share 11 championship titles between themselves but also the drive to stand up for causes that they believe in.

Speaking to Viaplay, Lewis Hamilton revealed that while he is "sad" to see Sebastian Vettel parting ways with the sport, he is proud to have had the German standing by him over the past few years. The Mercedes driver said:

“I’m sad to see Seb’s leaving, but I’m really proud to have had a united front with him on certain things. Fighting on the track was great, but standing with him against certain beliefs and certain issues when we face different countries has been some of the proudest moments I’ve had in this sport.”

“We’re all fighting something and I choose to be someone that’s uniting people rather than dividing people. I see so many people out there doing great things. I just want to be another out there that’s hopefully trying to do something positive.”

Hamilton and Vettel have both used their platforms to advocate for social causes when it comes to human rights, climate change, diversity, and equality.

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Lewis Hamilton says he is "still on the mission", insinuating a contract extension

Lewis Hamilton did not have a particularly strong start to the 2022 F1 season but progressed beautifully over the first half of the year. Speaking about the prospects of chasing a record-breaking eighth title, he revealed that he still has the drive and is not closed to extending his contract with Mercedes to achieve more in the sport.

Speaking to Vanity Fair magazine, the seven-time world champion said:

“I’ll be lying if I said that I hadn’t thought about extending. I’m still on the mission, I’m still loving driving, I’m still being challenged by it. So I don’t really feel like I have to give it up anytime soon.”

Speaking about Sebastian Vettel's retirement and what is to come next for himself, the Briton added:

“It doesn’t make me think about my future, but it is a reminder that I am in that part of my career that people I came up with and have raced for so long will start to stop. Before you know it Fernando Alonso will not be here, and then who is there after that? I guess I will be the oldest.”

“But I am thinking about how I can improve this car, what steps we need to take to get this team winning again, what is the road map to claiming another world championship, and what we need to do to have everyone in this sport more aligned, in terms of diversity.”

Lewis Hamilton currently stands sixth in the drivers' standings with 146 points to his name.