Lewis Hamilton addresses F1 retirement talk: ‘I'll be the one to decide when my masterpiece is finished’

Lewis Hamilton says he will call the shots on his own retirement after a difficult start to the Formula One season has fuelled talk he could quit the sport. The seven-time champion is seventh in the drivers’ standings after four races, and says his shot at the championship is already over given Mercedes’ struggles with porpoising issues.

Ad/> Hamilton controversially missed out on an eighth title last year when pipped to the line by Max Verstappen, and a sign of the former’s downfall in fortunes was evident on Sunday when he finished 13th and was lapped by his rival at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Formula 1Hamilton ‘has to admit’ Russell is ‘better driver’, says SchumacherYESTERDAY AT 09:54 Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko suggested Hamilton may have wished he retired at the end of last season, telling Sky Sports News: «I mean, he was lapped by us.

Maybe he is thinking he should have stopped last year!» But Hamilton has appeared to hit back, taking to Instagram to declare his “masterpiece” is not yet finished. “Working on my masterpiece, I’ll be the one to decide when it’s finished,” he said.

Hamilton ‘has to admit’ Russell is ‘better driver’, says Schumacher ‘Maybe he should have retired’ — Marko twists the knife after Hamilton lapped by Verstappen Wolff sorry to Hamilton for Mercedes car: 'Not good enough for world champion' /> Speaking after Sunday’s race, Hamilton already conceded his title fight was over, saying: “There's no question about that, but I'll still keep working as hard as I can to try and somehow pull it back together somehow." Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, meanwhile, was apologetic, saying “sorry” to Hamilton on the team radio and admitting the car has not matched the Briton’s standards. «We are not