The Press Stories
The 11th of January marks a month since Lewis Hamilton last posted anything on his various social media accounts. Now, if you follow Hamilton on any of these accounts, then you will know how out of character this is given that the Englishman would typically spend a lot of his time giving his followers a glimpse into his jet-setting lifestyle with regular posts. From jet-skiing in the Caribbean to a more mundane insight into his plant-based diet, if Hamilton was doing something, he told the world. What makes his silence even more extraordinary is that he received a knighthood in December that he hasn’t acknowledged on his social media accounts yet. As touched on briefly, for a man that would get a million likes for a generic post about having ‘positive vibes only’ accompanied by a selfie, it is astonishing that he hasn’t mentioned anything about his knighthood; an achievement that would be the pinnacle of most people’s lives.
Drama in the Desert
If you’re a Formula One fan then you will know why there has been radio silence from Hamilton over the last month. For everyone else needing to be brought up to speed, the 36-year-old has gone underground after the last Grand Prix of the year in Abu Dhabi where he felt the race was manipulated in order to stop him winning the championship. In Hamilton’s defense, there did seem to be a last-minute campaign to give viewers a final lap showdown for the ages after the safety car returned to the pits. In that sense, the powers that be achieved their goal, as Formula One experienced the most pulsating finish to the season in the sport’s history. But it did come at Hamilton’s expense after he was pipped to the line and ultimately the championship by Max Verstappen.
That extraordinary final lap of the 2021 title race in full ���#AbuDhabiGP ������ #F1 pic.twitter.com/kknTMDfpAF
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
It’s worth pointing out that Hamilton’s claims begin to fall apart under any real scrutiny when you consider the fact that there was a crash with five laps to go that brought on the safety car. This was an event that no one could have prepared for and is part of, if you will, the luck of the dice in Formula One that has been a factor since the sport began. Crucially, Hamilton has also benefitted countless times from the lottery of the safety car’s deployment over the course of his illustrious career. In other words, Hamilton’s accusations of a more sinister plot against him don’t stack up when considering the elements of fate that were out of everyone’s control. You simply can’t prepare for a driver smashing into a wall and bringing the race to a standstill.
Irrespective of that logic, the fear is that the Mercedes AMG Petronas driver will now walk away from the sport after this perceived unfair treatment. Those concerns have grown after his own team admitted they were none the wiser to his plans for 2022. There are, however, some other indicators that we can use to assess whether Hamilton will return. Indeed, it is intriguing to note that as of the 11th of January, the latest Betway sports betting prices as the favorite to win the 2022 championship at odds of +100. This tells a story in itself as the experts feel that the seven-time championship winner will be on the grid for the opening Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain.
Will Lewis Walk Away with an Unbeatable Legacy Within His Grasp?
Perhaps that is just a case of ‘no news being good news’ but with the Englishman still at the very peak of his powers, it would be strange if he didn’t give the new season the eventual green light. Also, Hamilton has criticized the sport of Formula One quite heavily in the past but has always come back to race, which suggests that the 36-year-old just needs a bit more time to cool down before announcing that he’ll fight for the 2022 championship. Furthermore, it’s worth saying that after breaking the record for the most Grand Prix wins, 91, Hamilton could also go one step further to ensure that he has a legacy that will never be bettered if he returns and wins the 2022 championship.
��� “The longer it goes on, the less chance we’ll see Lewis”
Craig Slater gives his insight on whether or not we will see Lewis Hamilton when the season starts ��� pic.twitter.com/MgdpVxFpQE
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) January 10, 2022
With possibly an eighth world championship in front of him, which would set the all-time record and surpass Michael Schumacher’s long-standing achievement of seven, it seems pretty likely that Hamilton will return for one last bite of the cherry.
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