After suffering late last lap heartbreak at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton’s future in Formula One is uncertain.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal, says they will “never get over” the controversial end to the 2021 season which saw Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen take the crown.
Verstappen took the title after a controversial Safety Car restart procedure saw Hamilton overtaken by the Dutchman, who was racing on fresher tyres.
Despite Hamilton signing a two-year contract with the team earlier on in the year, Wolff says they have been left “disillusioned” by Sunday’s events, and cannot guarantee the recently knighted Brit will return to the grid in 2022.
"It's going to take a long time for us to digest what has happened on Sunday. I don't think we will ever come over it, that's not possible," said the Austrian.
And certainly not him (Hamilton) as a driver. I would very much hope the two of us and the rest of the team we can work through the events... But he will never overcome the pain and the distress that was caused on Sunday.
It was also announced that Wolff and Hamilton would not attend Thursday’s FIA prize giving ceremony in Paris because of his own “personal integrity.”
The technical head of Mercedes James Allison will be there, however, to collect the Constructors' Championship.
Hamilton is currently pencilled in for a Mercedes seat in 2022, where his teammate is set to be promising rookie George Russell.
However, with Hamilton’s future now up in the air, Esteban Ocon, part of Mercedes' development driver programme, may be an option should the Brit announce his retirement.
"I would very much hope Lewis continues racing because he is the greatest driver of all time," Wolff added.
"As a racer his heart will say I need to continue because he's at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday. He is a man with clear values."
The Formula One 2021 season for many has been the greatest of all time, and with regulation changes coming in for 2022 and Hamilton’s future hanging in the balance, hopefully the 2022 season will be just as enthralling.