Lewis Hamilton, 2017 Formula One season
Formula One F1 - Malaysia Grand Prix 2017 - Drivers' News Conference - Sepang, Malaysia - September 28, 2017 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton speaks to journalists. Reuters / Edgar Su

Lewis Hamilton, the newly-crowned Formula One world champion, has taken a subtle shot towards former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. After capturing his fourth world championship Sunday, Hamilton said he had no intention of doing "the easy thing" and retire from the sport.

Rosberg shocked the world of motorsports last year when he announced his retirement barely days after winning his maiden F1 world title. But Hamilton is admittedly not wired that way, and hopes to reign supreme over the sport for many more years.

“I could do the easy thing like obviously Nico (Rosberg) did which is just stop and retreat with these four titles, but I think there’s more in me, I think there’s more to come, more of a challenge, as there are harder times ahead. I like that, I love that, that’s challenging,” Hamilton told reporters in a press conference.

Hamilton broke a plethora of records during the 2017 Formula One season and inched closer to becoming the sport's all-time most successful driver. Besides setting the new record for most pole positions, Hamilton improved his overall tally of race victories to 62, moving well past the third-placed Alain Prost (51).

Will Lewis Hamilton surpass Michael Schumacher?

Earlier this year, Sky Sports did a statistical breakdown and projected that Hamilton would need another 109 Grand Prix starts to surpass Schumacher. "Hamilton achieved his 60th win at the 202nd attempt, 15 years after Schumacher became the first F1 driver to 60 with victory at the 2002 British GP. That was the German driver’s 170th race start. Approaching the end of his 11th season in the sport, Hamilton has won at a rate of once every 3.4 races. Using that strike rate, he’d need another 109 races to reach the magical 92 wins."

However, Hamilton reiterated that he's not chasing Schumacher’s records. “I’m different. People talk about Michael’s single-mindedness about his job but to stand out in the world today is a lot harder because it’s all been done before. So doing something different that helps you stand out, that really highlights your individuality, is really important and that’s really something I’m working on.”

The 2017 Formula One season will conclude with season-ending races at Brazil and Abu Dhabi. With the Drivers' and Constructors' titles already in the kitty, Mercedes F1 faces little pressure from rival teams. The German team has already locked up Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for the 2018 Formula One season.