Lewis Hamilton Holds No Grudges Against Max Verstappen – “We Will Go Into Another Battle Like Last Year”

The 2021 season has become one of the most memorable seasons in the history of F1; especially after the controversial season finale. Since the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, there have been talks surrounding the incident that happened between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Finally, the seven-time world champion has presented his thoughts on the matter.

The nail-biting season finale at the Abu Dhabi was a title-deciding clash between the two titans. Although Hamilton almost led the entire race, the tables turned in the last lap when the Dutch snatches the eighth title from the Brit and claimed his first. Many fans and even Mercedes believe that Hamilton lost because of race director Michael Masi’s decisions involving the lapped cars and the safety car.

Following the 2021 season finale, there was a huge controversy surrounding Masi’s decision and Hamilton losing the title. Fans even speculated him quitting F1 after the loss; however, Lewis came back at the Brackley base to gear up for the upcoming 2022 season.

Furthermore, the Briton broke his silence on the matter; further, he claimed to have no issues with the Red Bull driver. The Mercedes driver said, “This has nothing to do with Max. Max did everything a driver would do given the opportunity he was given.”

“He’s a great competitor and we will go into another battle like last year and we will grow from our races and experiences we had last year through the season. No issues with him,” Hamilton further added.

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Lewis Hamilton never thought of quitting

The seven-time world champion disappeared from social media after his defeat to Max Verstappen at the title-deciding Abu Dhabi GP. Fans were speculating that the Briton quit racing after the defeat. But Hamilton, after being a month away from social media, finally came back online with a photo and broke the news of his return.

Soon after his post, the German F1 team also confirms the news about Hamilton’s return.

Recently, the Mercedes man was with his team at the launch of the 2022 challenger, W13. Furthermore, Lewis Hamilton talked about his rumors at the car launch and revealed that he never thought about quitting. The 32-year-old reported, “I never ever said I was going to stop.”

“I love doing what I do and it is such a privilege working with this large group of people. There’s no feeling quite like it,” the Mercedes driver added.

Currently, Hamilton is busy working with the German constructor for the upcoming season. Also, he will be accompanied by a new teammate; George Russell, who joined Mercedes for the 2022 season after Valtteri Bottas‘s departure to Alfa Romeo.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will take the Mercedes W13 for a shakedown in the first pre-season testing at Barcelona on February 23-25. Therefore, fans need to keep an eye on the Silver Arrows testing as it could hint at their potential for the entire upcoming season. So, let’s see what the German team got for the 2022 season.

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