McLaren chief Zak Brown has said that he would not be overly shocked if Lewis Hamilton stepped away from Formula 1 before the start of the new season but that his prediction is the Briton will be on the grid for the first race in Bahrain.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is still very much in people's minds at the moment and many are waiting to see just what the FIA investigation into those now-infamous final laps of the race is going to yield in terms of answers and outcomes.

Certainly, the weeks since have seen plenty of speculation and conjecture written over Hamilton's future, with some of the opinion that the Briton may look to retire from the sport having grown 'disillusioned' over the climax of the 2021 campaign.

As things stand, he has a contract until the end of 2023 with current team Mercedes and he is set to partner George Russell for the coming campaign but, of course, that can all change if the 7-time world champion so wills it.

That said, Brown has commented and suggested that he would not be shocked if Lewis did indeed walk away from the sport before the red lights go out in Sakhir, but that overall his prediction is that we'll still have one of the greatest drivers of all time in our midst when we pitch up in the Middle East:

"I wouldn't be shocked if Lewis stopped, but on balance I think he'll be back. He's racer at the top of his game and I doubt he is ready to hang up his helmet."

lewis hamilton

It would be a real shame for Hamilton's stellar career to end this way and that might be what gives him the motivation to continue in Formula 1 for a little while longer.

Certainly, there remains an air of doubt at the moment but hopefully that will pass in the coming weeks.