Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has hinted that he will bow out from the sport in the next few years as he has said he does not want to be racing by the age of 40.

The seven-time world champion is going on the hunt for a record-breaking eighth world title this season but faces a stern test from Max Verstappen and Red Bull in his quest to do that.

The passion for driving, though, still burns brightly in the 36-year-old Briton and, evidently, ahead of the new regulations coming in in 2022, he has no plans to walk away from the sport just yet.

He has, though, regularly over the years got involved in various other projects all over the world and, with him also helping drive the change for more inclusivity in motorsport, it does seem as though in the next few years he'll be considering hanging up the driving gloves and boots.

Speaking to Italian publication Corriere della Sera, he has said that he doesn't want to be racing by the time his next big milestone comes around birthday-wise:

“I really hope that I am no longer racing at the age of 40.

“That would be difficult, because there are so many things I still want to do.”

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Lewis has made no secret of his desire to pursue his many other interests alongside Formula 1 and, obviously, once he does leave the sport he'll have so much more time to really get into that.

The likes of Kimi Raikkonen have shown that you can drive in the sport past the age of 40 but, of course, it's not for everyone and Hamilton will surely be one of those to walk away before then with, what he hopes, is an eighth world title under his belt by then.