Lewis Hamilton confirms he will continue racing to help anti-racism agenda

It comes as no real surprise to F1 fans that newly-crowned seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has pledged to continue to race in Formula 1 beyond this season. The Mercedes driver has confirmed that he intends to stay for a while longer and continue his fight for equality and sustainability.

A chaotic 2020 has immersed F1 into the social justice and diversity conversation. Hamilton is so far the first and only Black F1 driver in history. The sport itself has launched the "We Race as One" campaign, and steps are being made across the organisation to improve diversity within F1, and not just in the racing seats.

"There is a much bigger win we all need to work together towards. That's pushing for equality, so we can create a better future," said Hamilton, as quoted by the BBC.

Apart from equalling Michael Schumacher's record of seven Formula 1 World Championship titles, Hamilton is also the winningest driver in the sport, having just secured his 94th Grand Prix victory in Turkey on Sunday.

Following the achievement, Hamilton confirmed that he will stay on a little longer in order to continue fighting for his advocacies which include environmental concerns apart from anti-racism.

"We have to work harder and not be so stubborn and open our minds up and educate ourselves a bit better so we can push for a more equal world. I am not going to stop fighting for that and then in my part time maybe I'll keep racing for a little while."

Hamilton said that this year had been an "awakening" and the pinnacle of his career so far.

Before the race in Turkey, several teams had already been announcing their driver lineups for next season. All eyes were on Mercedes, as both Toto Wolff and Hamilton remained mum about their futures. Hamilton said that he wanted to get the championship in the bag before discussing the contract. Now that the title is signed, sealed and delivered, he confirmed that he is ready to talk about his future with the team.

"I wanted to put it aside and wait until the job is done," he said, while also saying that he is still focused on the remaining three races of the current season. "It's not done. But we will get it done, I'm sure," he confirmed.

"There isn't any pressure. I see us going for more next year. Maybe putting another great year on and we have this tremendous challenging regulations change for 2022. So we'll go for a while," added Wolff.