Former Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost has said that he thinks it is '50/50' over whether Lewis Hamilton will be on the grid in 2022.

The 7-time world champion had a record-breaking eighth crown snatched away from him in the cruelest, most controversial of circumstances back in December at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen taking the championship on the final lap after a late Safety Car decision.

Since then, the reaction on social media from F1 fans has been vociferous to say the least, though Lewis himself has been pretty quiet and many are wondering just what his plans actually are for 2022.

He has a contract with Mercedes until 2023 but can obviously decide to walk away if he so wishes, and former McLaren and Williams driver Prost reckons that it's a real split call at the moment in terms of predicting what the Briton is going to do:

It's hard to put yourself in his shoes," said Prost, quoted by French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.

"He surely has as many reasons to stop as to continue. It's fifty-fifty. He's taken a big blow to the head, but it would be really sad if he wasn't here this season."

"I want to stay optimistic because there's this eighth title to go and this new technical regulation, with maybe three teams at the top and four or five drivers vying for the title.

"That's a challenge that Hamilton might want to take on."

The final race and the final lap of 2021 will never really be forgotten for the drama and controversy it threw up and we are still really none the wiser as to whether Hamilton will return for 2022 to challenge once more.

He is expected to be in the field but, as Prost says, you could perhaps understand if he feels he needs a breather from everything.