Lewis Hamilton has not made any public comments since losing the world championship in Abu Dhabi. He did not give a post-race press conference and did not attend the FIA Prize Giving Gala in Paris. But he managed to win an important award at the ceremony.
The F1 media gave Lewis Hamilton the FIA Personality of the Year. There has been a lot of praise for the 7-time world champion over how he conducted himself at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP.
Despite his loss, he was respectful of his title rival Verstappen and congratulated him for the championship.
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WATCH STORY: Lewis Hamilton’s Biggest F1 Crashes
Toto Wolff hopes that Lewis Hamilton does not walk away from the sport
As reported by Motorsport.com, in his interview before the gala, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated that both he and Hamilton are in a lot of pain since losing the title. He also mentioned that he is not sure whether the British driver will continue driving in F1 in 2022.
“Lewis and I are disillusioned at the moment. We are not disillusioned with the sport, we love the sport with every bone in our body and we love it because the stopwatch never lies,” said Wolff.
“We will never overcome the pain and the distress that was caused on Sunday. I would very much hope that Lewis continues racing because he’s the greatest driver of all times,” said the Mercedes team boss.
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Max Verstappen, the 2021 world champion, also hoped that Lewis would continue racing in F1. He also sympathized with his rival and mentioned that he can understand his pain.
“I think he should just look back at what he has achieved, and that should give him a lot of comfort and that drive to keep ongoing. He is still trying to challenge for that eighth title, and he can do that again next year, so I don’t see any reason why to give up or stop now,” said Max.
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Just like Max and Toto, every F1 fan hopes that the Mercedes driver continues racing. Let’s see what 2022 has in store for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.
READ MORE: Why Do Mercedes Dominate F1?