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F1 star reveals quit thoughts
Formula 1, 13:09, March 7, 2010 ,
Former Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted he considered his future in the sport following last year's lying incident.
In March 2009 Hamilton was persuaded by McLaren sporting director Dave Ryan, who was sacked after the revelations came to light, to mislead stewards at the Australian Grand Prix.
The British driver has admitted he considered turning his back on the sport in the wake of the infamous incident in Melbourne, but claims he would never have left the McLaren team.
He said: "I care about how people perceive me.
"It was a feeling of 'shoot, maybe I shouldn't be in the sport' rather than not in my team. This is my dream team and I am fortunate to have been here from the beginning.
"I never had a desire to drive for anyone else. So it was not a desire to leave the team, just to stop racing.
"For a split second it was 'this is too much to take. How do I recover from this?"'
However, Hamilton claims the experience and the support he received made him stronger and is confident ahead of the new season.
He added: "I don't ever want to be in that position again and I don't feel I ever will be. I can't say what will happen in the future but I have always said I love the sport, I love winning and winning in the right way. Integrity is very important to me."