Lewis Hamilton ‘is back’ as Mercedes confirm F1 superstar’s return for 2022 season | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton is set to return to the F1 track this season after Mercedes confirmed on Monday that their No 44 is back. The revelation ends months of speculation around Hamilton’s future, with the Briton previously being tipped to retire from the sport following the controversial end to the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton suffered heartache last year after being denied a record eighth F1 championship in agonising circumstances.
The 37-year-old looked set to clinch the title after building a substantial lead at the season-deciding race in the desert.
But the contest was thrown wide open in the final stages after Williams’ Nicholas Latifi careered into a wall.
A safety car was subsequently deployed, with Hamilton opting to stay out on the track to ensure he didn’t relinquish his lead, while his title rival Max Verstappen pitted for fresh rubber.
Race director Michael Masi then allowed five cars which had come between the top two drivers to overtake and move out of the way.
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And Verstappen was given permission to pull level with Hamilton for a one-lap shootout. The Red Bull ace ultimately took advantage of his fresh tyres to storm to victory and land his maiden F1 title.
Mercedes were outraged following Masi’s actions and launched a protest, before revealing their intention to appeal.
They eventually dropped their appeal but were clearly outraged by what had happened in Abu Dhabi.
Following his post-race interview, Hamilton went to ground and refused to attend the FIA gala dinner in Paris days after the race.
DON’T MISS
The seven-times champion stepped away from the public eye and didn’t post any updates on social media for weeks as rumours circulated that he was ready to turn his back on the sport.
But he returned in a Mercedes video to wish people a Happy Chinese New Year at the start of the month, before posting a new picture to Instagram days later.
“I’ve been gone,” he wrote. “Now I’m back!”
At that stage, there was still no confirmation from Hamilton or Mercedes that their star man was going to take his position on the grid when the new season got underway in Bahrain in March.
But the rumours around Hamilton’s future have finally been put to bed after Mercedes took to Twitter on Monday.
The Silver Arrows posted an image of Hamilton with his back to the camera, with the driver’s usual No 44 pasted in front of him.
“44 is back,” wrote Mercedes above the image. And they finished their tweet with heart and fire emojis.
