LEWIS HAMILTON admits he cannot keep his pedal to the metal forever.

The F1 great, 39, is set to join Ferrari next season.

Yet before making his debut for The Prancing Horse, he is already planning his dismount.

Asked if he had a timeframe by Esquire, he said: “I definitely do.

“There are days I’m like, shoot, I don’t know how much longer I can go.

“There are days I’m like, shoot, I’d love a break, a proper break, because you don’t get a real big break in the season like other sports.

“You don’t finish until mid to late December, and then you’re back into training already in January, and that’s two times a day you’re training.

“There are another couple of hours of therapy that you’re doing during that time as well. So you’re not really getting a huge amount of downtime.

“And in February, you’re flat out running until December.

“But I do have mentally a plan of where I would like to extend to.

“I’ve just got to strategise and sequence things. I’m very much about sequencing, like looking at brands that I collaborate with, companies that I’m essentially starting, how I manage my time between all those, and how I’m able to dedicate myself to this job still.

“Is there a time when I’m not all in and I’m just not in love with it anymore?

“That’s the moment that hopefully never happens, in the sense that I’ve fallen out of love with it.

“But I will know when I need to stop.”

Hamilton won the Belgian GP in dramatic style last month after team-mate George Russell was disqualified hours after the race had finished.

The stewards found that Russell’s car – which ran a one-stop strategy – was underweight after it was drained of fuel during the usual post-race checks.

It was Hamilton’s second victory in three races going into F1’s summer break, with Max Verstappen topping the standings.

The Dutch Grand Prix will see the competition resume next weekend.