OMNISPORT

Lewis Hamilton has no plans to quit Formula One in the near future as he remains hungry for more glory in a "phenomenal journey" with Mercedes.

The Brit is well on course to surpass Juan Manuel Fangio's tally of five Formula One world titles and move one away from Michael Schumacher's record haul of seven. Hamilton is not contemplating quitting the sport and gave a strong hint he would be keen to stay with the Silver Arrows beyond 2020, when his contract expires.

"One day I will have to stop, but right now I feel fantastic physically and mentally." the 34-year-old said. "I don't currently have any plans of stopping soon. There's more to do, there's more to win, there's more to achieve together, inside and outside of the car."

He added: "It's been a phenomenal journey. I think right now I'm just excited to see what more we can do together and what's next. I honestly don't know why some people decide to stop at the times they decide to stop, but I love driving. I really, really love the challenge."

Hamilton is not expecting Mercedes to get things all their own way in the remainder of a season he will resume after the summer break with a lead of 62 points.

"Eight wins in the first half of the season is obviously exceptional." he said. "Ferrari have had a good package, they've obviously come with a certain philosophy this year that doesn't work everywhere. Red Bull, I don't know what changes they've done to their car but they seem to really be able turn it round, I think the engine has really made a big step for them as well which is great.

"I look at those races and I say eight out of 12 [wins]? There's still some missing. So how did we miss those ones? How were we not perfect on those weekends?

"We've also had races where we were fortunate and Ferrari were quicker. Sometimes it was team error or sometimes it was driver error. I do think the next half of the season could be much, much harder as we continue to have this battle."