It would be hard to imagine Formula 1 without one of its biggest stars, but Lewis Hamilton thinking about his future could make it a reality.
Hamilton has been in the F1 series since 2007 and has won four championships, including one this season. So, to see him walk away would cause even more uncertainty for a sport that doesn't quite know where its future is going.
The four-time champion's contract with Mercedes is up at the end of next season, with contract extensions believed to begin in the coming weeks, according to motorsport.com.
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While the odds are pretty high for Hamilton to renew his deal with Mercedes, he's recently admitted that part of him would like to explore opportunities away from racing.
"It's like the weather. It's about trying to find the balance," Hamilton said during an interview with a group of media including motorsport.com in regards to his future.
"I've currently got another year with the team and I do want to continue," he added. "But, I'm at that point where there's that question."
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While Hamilton has a desire to explore off-track options, he knows if he were to walk away from F1 that he'd miss racing.
"There's a saying you stay as long as you can," added Hamilton. "I'm not quite sure about that exactly, but there is a lot of life left beyond it. There are things that I've missed in life."
Hamilton recently suffered the loss of a loved one, his aunt, and says that put life into perspective for him.
"My auntie died from cancer and on her last day she said, 'I've worked every day with the plan of stopping one day and doing all these different things, and then I ran out of time.'," he said. "So I'm battling with that in my mind."