Lewis Hamilton has previously said he expects to retire from F1 in January 2022 as he continues to ponder his future. The Mercedes star is under contract for another two seasons but he is weighing up whether to quit the sport for good.
Hamilton is still angry over last year’s controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in which Max Verstappen won the world title.
The Brit has remained silent on social media as he continues to weigh up his options.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that his star man may not return for the 2022 campaign.
And back in 2015, Hamilton had predicted that his time to leave the sport may come once he turns 37 years old, a milestone he celebrated two weeks ago.
“When I think about what year I would probably end up stopping, it’d be about 37 maybe,” Hamilton said in 2015.
“I remember watching Michael [Schumacher]. He’d won everything and dominated everyone by a million miles and he kept going and going because he loved it.
“But I’m conscious that there’s only 20 of us, 20 seats, and knowing just how it went when I got to Formula 1… [Juan Pablo] Montoya pretty much got fired, he left, there was a seat available and that was one more opportunity for another youngster to come in.
“I want to enjoy my period of time because I think I’ve earned it here, but I don’t want to overstay my welcome because I know that every year that I stay there’s one young kid who may have had a chance to come through, but because I stayed his chance may have been missed.
“So at one point I’m going to be conscious of that.”
Hamilton is waiting for the result of an FIA inquiry into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before deciding his next move.
And Wolff is unsure whether the seven-time world champion will continue as the inquiry is set to drag on until March 18.
He told Auto Motor und Sport: “It’s very deep. Lewis, I and the whole team are disillusioned. We love this sport because it’s honest. The stopwatch never lies.
“But if we break the fundamental principle of fairness and the stopwatch is no longer relevant, then you doubt this sport.
“That all your work, blood, sweat and tears can be taken away from you.
“It’s going to take a long time to digest. I don’t think we’ll ever get over that, especially Lewis as a driver.
“At least we can try together with the FIA to do better in the future.”
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