'I'm back:' Lewis Hamilton breaks social media silence following 2021 Formula 1 season
Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton publicly posted to social media for the first time in nearly two months on Saturday with a simple message.
Hamilton hadn't posted to Instagram or Twitter since the day before the final race of the 2021 Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton was on the wrong end of controversial officiating by F1 race control in the final laps of a the race and that officiating likely cost Hamilton what would have been an unprecedented eighth championship.
The Mercedes driver's postseason silence and his absence from the postseason FIA awards banquet in the days after the finale had led to a lot of wild speculation about his future despite the two-year contract extension he recently signed through the 2023 season. In Saturday's message, Hamilton appeared to concisely quell all that baseless speculation ahead of the first race of the season on March 20.
I’ve been gone. Now I’m back! pic.twitter.com/Y8i0cgJXZq
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 5, 2022
Hamilton entered the finale in Abu Dhabi tied in the points with title rival Max Verstappen and the two drivers started alongside each other on the front row.
Hamilton controlled the race from the start and had a comfortable lead over Verstappe when a caution flew for a crash with less than five laps to go in the 58-lap race. As F1 rushed to get the race restarted for a one-lap dash to the finish, it departed from typical protocol and moved the lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen out of the way right before the race went back green. That allowed Verstappen — who had pitted for fresh tires during the caution — to pass Hamilton and win his first F1 title.
Mercedes immediately protested the decision to wave the lapped cars around before the green flag but that protest was denied in the hours after the race. The team then said it would appeal that decision, but ultimately dropped the appeal after negotiating with the FIA.
In its statement announcing that the appeal had been dropped, the team said that it had agreed to move on after a decision had been made to investigate the officiating decisions in the final laps of the race.
We appealed in the interest of sporting fairness, and we have since been in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula 1 to create clarity for the future, so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced. Thus, we welcome the decision by the FIA to install a commission to thoroughly analyse what happened in Abu Dhabi and to improve the robustness of rules, governance and decision making in Formula 1. We also welcome that they have invited the teams and drivers to take part.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will actively work with this commission to build a better Formula 1 – for every team and every fan who loves this sport as much as we do. We will hold the FIA accountable for this process and we hereby withdraw our appeal.
Hamilton, 36, is the winningest driver in F1 history with 103 wins and is currently tied with Michael Schumacher for the most titles in series history. He’s set to team with George Russell at Mercedes in 2022 and the team is the heavy favorite to capture a ninth consecutive constructor’s title.
