I am convinced that Hamilton will not leave F1, says FIA president. So where does his career stand?

Lewis Hamilton was very frustrated by the events of the last race of the 2021 season. Experts, journalists and fans around the world immediately began speculating whether the British driver was about to call it a career. These speculations are currently being attempted to be refuted by the new FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem…

As we all know nowadays, the Formula 1 championship was not only decided in the last race of the season, but in its last lap!

And it was the last round of the season that was the subject of great controversy associated with the highly speculative decisions of Michael Massi. Anyway, it was Hamilton’s biggest rival for the title – Max Verstappen.

On the team radio immediately after the duel with Verstappen, Hamilton complained that the title fight was rigged. The Mercedes driver was logically very devastated by the final result, but in a post-race interview afterwards he managed to congratulate Verstappen on his victory.

Hamilton was then seen for the last time on the podium. Together with Toto Wolff, the head of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 stable, they did not attend the traditional FIA gala awards ceremony.

The German stable also issued a statement on the latest events, after which Wolff said he hoped Hamilton’s career would continue. The 36-year-old has subsequently stopped following F1 on his Instagram profile and has taken a complete break from social media.

This, of course, has only heightened all the speculation that continues to emerge across the world’s media. Recently, however, his younger brother has spoken out, describing social networks as a very toxic place and saying that Lewis is taking just a little break.

Well, a few days ago, the FIA president himself tried to contact Hamilton. He said during a press conference before the Dakar Rally that he was not worried about Hamilton ending his professional career as a Formula 1 driver.

“Let me ask you, has Lewis said he will no longer race? No, exactly. As a driver, you always announce your end and you don’t let speculation run rampant,” Ben Sulayem said at a press conference ahead of the Dakar Rally.

“I’m sure Lewis will be back. He is a big part of motorsport and of course F1. Lewis can add something extra to his wins and successes in the new era, he will experience something completely new. And he’s got Verstappen there as well. I’m sure you will see a very challenging season,” he added.

Ben Sulayem also admitted afterwards that he had tried to contact Hamilton via text messages. According to him, the British driver is not ready to work at 100% at the moment and we can’t blame him either.

“I understand his position, although Lewis is obviously on a different level. But we have certain rules that have to be respected and followed. They knew they had to attend the FIA gala according to the rules, which they didn’t. But you’re only human and Lewis was under a lot of pressure. I believe that everything will be sorted out,” he concluded.

F1, Motorsport