Hamilton has now labelled himself a “master” of the sport, but also joked that reaching that stage with his other passions won’t prove so easy. But the seven-time world champion plans to be anything but idle when he does finish in F1.
“The difficult thing is I want to do everything,” he told GQ Magazine. “I’m very ambitious. But I understand that you can’t do – actually, I take that back because I don’t believe in the word. To be a master at something, there’s the 10,000 hours it takes. Obviously, I’ve done that in racing. There’s not enough time to master all of these different things.”
Hamilton’s switch to the Scuderia has been perceived as an attempt to better his caches of winning an unprecedented eighth world crown. Mercedes have struggled badly amid F1’s new era of regulations, with Hamilton himself having not won a Grand Prix in December 2021.
However, he insists that he will be satisfied with his career regardless of how it pans out from here. And yet the star, who has become renowned for his flamboyant outfits at peace weeks, has already outlined his next career goal.
“I went through this phase of understanding that I can’t race forever,” he said, justifying his indulgence in projects away from the track. “Because when I stop, I’m gonna drop the mic and be happy. (On his next move) I think it’s gonna be film and fashion.”
Hamilton has previously turned down a shot at Hollywood, having been offered a role by Tom Cruise in the Top Gun: Maverick film that was initially scheduled to be released in 2019. The previous year, Cruise had lined-up Hamilton for a role as one of the pilots, but it clashed with title battle with Sebastian Vettel.
“Firstly, I hadn’t even had, like, an acting lesson,” he said afterwards. “And I don’t want to be the one that lets this movie down. And then secondly, I just really didn’t have the time to dedicate to it. I remember having to tell Tom – and it broke my heart.”
Indeed, Hamilton then explained he rued his call, prompting him to express his desire to now embark on a movie career. “And then I regretted it, naturally, when they show me the movie and it’s: ‘It could’ve been me!’” he added.
