Lewis Hamilton says he is unlike any driver Formula 1 has seen before and reaffirmed a determination to keep racing into his mid-forties.

The seven-time world champion recently said he wanted to continue in the sport to fulfil a dream of racing in Africa, having campaigned for a Grand Prix there for many years.

F1 has signed a 10-year deal with the central-east African country of Rwanda starting in the early 2030s which will be a first race on the continent since 1993.

Hamilton is 41 and will be at least 45 when that race takes place, but he told a news conference before this weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix that he should be considered a special case.

The Briton said F1 had “never had anyone like me in the 70 years” of the sport and he felt like he was “built differently”.

“Of course there are challenges up ahead that I can’t foresee that come with age. But along this journey there have been so many pre-conceived ideas like that your reaction time drops off,” he said.

“Did you see my reaction time in the last race? It was faster than some of the youngest people here.

“As long as you are willing to sacrifice everything, which I am right now – I can’t say in four years whether I will want to continue doing what I’m doing – but I am still all in. I will be for the foreseeable future.”

Hamilton is battling to finish second in the drivers’ championship this season.

The Ferrari driver is in a fight with four other drivers to end the season behind runaway leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, who is 21 years Hamilton’s junior.

Hamilton struggled during his first season with Ferrari, but has enjoyed a much more positive campaign this time around including victory in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in June.

Hamilton said he has proven that he can still compete at the highest level.

“Time will tell whether I’m here in the 2030s. I never want to overstay my welcome in the sense of not having the performance,” he added.

“I don’t want to be driving around with that having really dropped off.

“Everyone assumed that last year and I have proved everyone wrong. I’ll continue to try to do so.”