Hamilton, 35, whose Mercedes contract expires next month, is on the brink of securing a record-equalling seventh world championship.
His victory on the sport’s return to Imola after a 14-year hiatus took him 85 points clear in the standings with just 104 points available. The Briton will match Michael Schumacher’s all-time championship haul if he wins at the next round in Turkey on November 15.
Hamilton’s boss Toto Wolff’s future is also uncertain. The Austrian has overseen Mercedes’ unprecedented run which saw the all-conquering team capture their seventh consecutive constructors’ championship here in Italy.
But when pressed on Wolff’s plans for 2021, Hamilton said: “I don’t even know If I am going to be here next year so it is not really a concern for me at the moment.
“I would like to be, but there is no guarantee of that. There is a lot that excites me about Formula One’s afterlife.
“We are in November and Christmas is not that far away. I feel great, strong, and that I could go on for plenty of months, but Toto mentioned about shelf life and there are multiple things on the top of my mind.
“I have been here a long, long time and I can understand him wanting to pull back a little bit and give more time to his family.”
Only recently, Hamilton spoke about the possibility of continuing in the sport for another three years and it seems improbable he will walk away with a record-breaking eighth title likely to follow in 2021.
Nevertheless, it is curious that a new contract has not been agreed.
“I guess if Lewis decided to step out of Formula One, which I don’t think will happen, we are going to have a frantic driver market out there,” said Wolff, 48.
“We are all happy but very tired and it is the same for me. I relate to his feeling that you question yourself and that you think about all the other things that matter.”
At the venue which claimed the life of his childhood hero Ayrton Senna, Hamilton turned on the style with a hat-trick of fastest laps to move more than 28 seconds clear of Bottas by the time he stopped for tyres on lap 30.
It was a mesmerising display which enabled him to wrap up his ninth win of a crushing campaign. Hamilton finished 5.7 seconds clear of Bottas with Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo third.
Source: Belfast Telegraph