Lewis Hamilton has taken retirement advice from sporting greats like Serena Williams and Michael Jordan to figure out what he should do after having "mastered" Formula 1.
The 39-year-old has no intention of walking away from his racing career just yet. He has already signed up to continue driving in F1 for Ferrari from next year, beginning a new chapter beyond his 40th birthday.
Yet, Hamilton has known for some time now that he needs to be prepared for life after F1. That realisation came about, he told GQ, after conversations with other huge names from the sporting world.
He said: "I'd spoken to so many amazing athletes, from Boris Becker to Serena Williams, even Michael Jordan. Talking to greats that I've met along the way, who are retired - or some that are still in competition - and the fear of what's next, the lack of preparation for what's next.
"A lot of them said, 'I stopped too early', or, 'Stayed too long. When it ended, I didn't have anything planned. My whole world came crashing down because my whole life has been about that sport.'
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"Some of them were like, 'I didn't plan and it was a bit of a mess-up because I was really lost afterwards. There was such a hole. Such a void. And I had no idea how I was going to fill it. And I was in such a rush initially to try and fill it that you fill it with the wrong thing. And you make a few mistakes. And then eventually you find your way'.
"Some people took longer. Some people took shorter. But it just got my mind thinking about, 'Okay, when I stop, how do I avoid that?' And so I got serious about finding other things that I was passionate about."
Hamilton has excelled in F1, winning seven titles, and has been left feeling like he has "mastered" racing. He knows he will not be able to dedicate the same amount of time to other projects in his life, but says he has at least decided what the focus of his life will be when he hangs up his racing overalls for the final time.
He said: "I think it's gonna be film and fashion." He has already made inroads into both those industries, but the task at hand remains securing one last F1 title before he retires. The Briton said he had "never started a year excited for the year to follow" like he did this term, and cannot wait to pull on the famous red of Ferrari.
He added: "I'm training harder than I've ever trained. I feel the most physically prepared I've ever been. So I'm really excited about the present, knowing that nothing is promised beyond that. But then it's also conceptualizing, I have all these ideas of things I want to do beyond, in the next phase."
The Global Creativity Issue of GQ is available via digital download and on newsstands on April 9th.
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