Radio silence Hamilton for the show? 'He will have a super competitive car'

Since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, no one has heard from Hamilton. Radio silence reigns on his social media and there are no interviews with the media either. Rumors have been circulating for weeks that the seven-time world champion would quit F1 after the events in Abu Dhabi, where he lost the title fight against Max Verstappen.

Toto Wolff announced in December that he cannot give any guarantees about the return of his driver. The Telegraph has spoken to several F1 insiders about the Mercedes driver's situation. They estimate that the chances of Hamilton stopping are very low. According to one of them, his radio silence is "for show" to put pressure on the FIA so that they take action.

Hamilton has plenty of reasons

"It’s all part of the drama. The truth is Lewis is going to have a super competitive car this year and he’s got 50 million reasons for staying [the value of his contract]. Anyway, if he was going to retire he’d have said it by now, wouldn’t he? Otherwise, he’s just going to let down the team because they’ve got no options”, another insider revealed.

Officially, Hamilton still has a two-year contract running at Mercedes, so he would stay with the team until 2023. In addition, the new regulations and his new teammate George Russell will provide plenty of challenges. According to the F1 insiders, fans do not have to worry and we will see Hamilton back in 2022.