Hamilton hopes to end his F1 career with Mercedes

Newly-crowned world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he hopes to end his Formula One career with Mercedes rather than joining another team.

"I am proud to be with Mercedes," he told the Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten papers in an interview Saturday. "I hope that I can end my career in a Silver Arrow."

The question of whether a move to rivals Ferrari was ever an option, the 32-year-old Brit was clear: "no."

Hamilton, whose contract runs to the end of 2018, now has four world titles to his name with three coming with Mercedes in the last four seasons.

This season Ferrari threatened to close the gap through Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton predicts an even tougher contest next term - albeit with Mercedes staying in front.

"It could be a fight between us, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren," he said. "Mercedes is in top form at the moment and I don't see anything that could change that."

And on Vettel he added: "I think it will be tight. The bigger the pressure for me, the more critical the situation, the better - I need that."