MOTORSPORTS

Lewis Hamilton stunned Formula One on Sunday when, hours after winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, he admitted that he did not know if he would still be in the sport next season.

Speaking during a post-race news conference, the six-time world champion told reporters there was "no guarantee" that he would continue and added that "there's a lot that excites me with the after-life – time will tell!"

Hamilton's victory, a record-extending 93rd of his career, in Sunday's race clinched Mercedes' record seventh consecutive constructors title – an achievement he attributed to the team's "unsung heroes" and the leadership of team boss Toto Wolff.

Lewis Hamilton said he was in dreamland on Sunday after powering to victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix to become Formula One's record all-time race winner.

His 92nd win lifted him one clear of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher's 16-year-old record of 91 wins and opened up a 77-point lead ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who finished second, in the title race.

With five races remaining in the coronavirus-affected season, Hamilton is within reach of a record-equalling seventh championship and a record-increasing 100th pole position.

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher is thought to be in a vegetative state with little chance of ever fully recovering, according to leading neurosurgeon Erich Riederer. Michael Schumacher is thought to be in a vegetative state with little chance of ever fully recovering, according to leading neurosurgeon Erich Riederer.

The seven-time F1 World Champion had been on holiday in the French Alps in 2013 when he was in a devastating skiing accident that left him with severe brain injuries. Almost seven years later, he has not been seen in public since the accident with few details released about his current state.

The Formula 1 season will kick off in Austria next month with all eight European races to take place behind closed doors.

Racing was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic with contests in France, Monaco, Australia and the Netherlands scrapped.

But the season will resume on July 3 with two consecutive weekends of competition in Austria, with the Hungarian Grand Prix to be held a week later.

Two races at Silverstone, in Britain, will follow a two-week break while the Spanish Grand Prix, which was initially scheduled to take place in May, will instead be held in mid-August.

With Carlos Sainz moving to Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo heading for McLaren, AFP looks at how the grid in the 2021 Formula One world championship is shaping up.

Mercedes

-- Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is under contract until the end of 2020 and has made no secret of his intention to stay with the sport's top team as he targets Michael Schumacher's record of seven titles. His teammate Valtteri Bottas is also signed up until the end of this year. However, the 30-year-old Finn is believed to be under pressure from highly-rated Williams driver George Russell, a product of the Mercedes young drivers scheme. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said he wants to keep Hamilton and Bottas together. But he also admitted that he cannot "ignore" the fact that four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has already announced he is leaving Ferrari at the end of this season.

Monaco's Charles Leclerc, just 22, has a deal with the Italian giants until 2024 and with Vettel on his way out, will expect to see the team built around him. In 2021, his new teammate will be Spain's Carlos Sainz, three years his senior, who will leave McLaren.

Red Bull (Honda engine)

-- Max Verstappen, 22, is on the books until 2023. Teammate Alexander Albon has a contract until the end of this season having been promoted from the Red Bull sister team. He needs to keep making an impression, especially with Vettel, a former Red Bull star, a free agent.