Lewis Hamilton will make an appearance at the Mercedes factory for the unveiling of the Mercedes 2022 car on February 18th.
Mercedes has confirmed that Sir Lewis Hamilton will be on the grid for the start of the 2022 season, as it seeks reassuarance after his title loss last year.
The seven-time Formula One world champion returned to social media last week after a social media hiatus that began after the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale, where he was denied a record-breaking eighth title by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The Brit looked well on his way to win his eighth record championship title up until the final stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when Williams’ Nicholas Latifi collided with the barrier and brought out the Safety Car.
Max Verstappen, his title rival, took advantage of the safety car period to switch to new tyres, but Mercedes opted to stay on the track after the caution considering a few laps were remaining to the end of the race, with Hamilton riding on aged tires.
Five lapped runners sat between the leaders as a result, and race director Michael Masi made the first decision to deny any lapped drivers their lap back.
After lengthy negotiations with Red Bull, the Race Director decided to let the five drivers pass the Safety Car, and Verstappen passed the Mercedes driver on the race’s final lap to win his maiden Formula 1 world championship.
During the controversial final lap, Hamilton remarked on the radio that race control had “manipulated” the race, and his “we’ll see about next year” comment, combined with his nearly two-month hiatus from social media, fueled speculation that he was considering retiring from the sport.
Following the race, team principal Toto Wolff expressed doubts about Hamilton’s future in the sport, citing the ‘disillusionment’ felt by both the team and the driver.
While confirmation of Hamilton’s participation is expected to follow the conclusions of the FIA’s investigation into race director Michael Masi’s operations during the race and the events that followed at Yas Marina.
The eight-time constructors’ champions will unveil their new car on February 18th, and they have confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will be at the team’s headquarters for the unveiling.
“A livestream featuring Toto, Lewis, George and the first in-person look at the Mercedes-AMG F1 W13 E Performance will be accessible via the team’s YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels,” the team said in a statement.
Mercedes’ solution to F1’s dramatically changed regulations, which are intended at boosting closer, more interesting racing, will be unveiled at Silverstone, along with a shakedown.
This appears to put to rest rumors that the seven-time champion is considering retiring from Formula 1, and he appears to be on track to fight for his eighth championship in 2022.
The opening race of the season will be held in Bahrain on March 20. Pre-season testing begins on February 23 in Barcelona.
