© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Lewis Hamilton admits he had instant thoughts of retirement after the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but “one of the worst things you can do is make decisions based on emotions”.
Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton for the title, after race director Michael Masi ignored and altered the rules which govern the use of the Safety Car.
The intervention allowed Verstappen to overtake Hamilton on the last lap of the race, making for a nail-biting finish to an exciting season.
In reality, Lewis had no chance against Verstappen, since the race director’s intervention allowed the Dutch driver to have fresh Soft tyres, while Hamilton was on worn down Hards.
Afterwards, Lewis entered a long period of no communication with the media, while rumours of his retirement were running rampant.
Ahead of the two-year anniversary of the infamous Abu Dhabi event, Lewis was asked if he instantly thought of retirement.
“For sure, yeah,” the Briton said.
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“There was so much going through my mind during that period in time. But I think one of the worst things you can do is make decisions based on emotions.
“Because when you are emotional and in the heat of that moment, more often than not, you’re not going to make the best decisions.
“Emotions were high, it was a really, really difficult period of time, so I had to just wait until things calmed down, and that I was clear in my thought and I was able to then make the right decisions.”
Lewis then revealed he spent some of his time off that winter with his family, and then he realized he wanted to continue racing in F1.
“I was around my niece and nephew and was in a beautiful place, in Hawaii, with my family, and at a point where I felt really content and felt I just wanted to get up again and keep going,” he concluded.
