Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says there are no guarantees that he will be in Formula One next season.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recognised that was a possibility but told reporters separately that he expected the Briton to stay with a team that has now won a record seven successive constructors’ and drivers’ titles.
But Hamilton says: I don’t even know if I’m going to be here next year.”
Hamilton, 35, is out of contract at the end of the year and has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal, although he is expected to.
Pressed on his comment, Hamilton – who won Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and has only teammate Valtteri Bottas remaining as a title rival – continued: “I would like to be here next year but there’s no guarantee of that, for sure.
"There’s a lot that excites me of the after life [after racing], so time will tell.”
BY ALAN BALDWIN