© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
By Adrian Mann
Ever since Lewis Hamilton stopped talking to the media, following the controversial ending of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the said media hasn’t stopped publicly speculating about what he’s thinking, doing, planning to do, not planning to do…
It’s one thing to report the news or relay someone’s opinion on a certain situation, but with Lewis himself not talking, certain representatives of the media have taken upon themselves to basically tell the public what they’re thinking Lewis is thinking, or what their “sources” are thinking Lewis is thinking. Others have taken these opinions as fact, and have constructed a narrative that paints a completely fictional picture of what Lewis is going through, and what his motivation is.
So, to be able to distinguish facts from fiction, we have to get the facts straight first.
The Facts
- Lewis Hamilton has not given any public statements about the controversial ending of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
- Lewis Hamilton has not made any public appearances since receiving his knighthood back in December, with one additional semi-public appearance at Mercedes’ factory in Brackley, during the team’s Constructors’ Championship win celebration and Valtteri Bottas’ farewell party.
- When asked about Lewis Hamilton’s future in Formula 1, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said he ‘hopes’ to see him back.
- Lewis Hamilton has a contract with Mercedes that runs until the end of 2023, and neither Hamilton, nor the team have made any official comments indicating that his future is in doubt or that it’s even being discussed.
So these are the only facts in this situation. Now we move to a few prominent stories that are being perpetuated by the media and certain Formula 1 fans.
The Stories
- Lewis Hamilton is considering his future in Formula 1 and might not return in 2022.
- Lewis Hamilton’s future depends on the outcome of the FIA’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix investigation.
- Lewis Hamilton is ‘pouting’ because he didn’t get what he wants.
- Lewis Hamilton is using his silence to pressure the FIA to remove Michael Masi and unnamed ‘other people’ from their positions.
- Lewis Hamilton does not want to risk losing out to his new team-mate George Russell.
These are the most prominent stories that are being reported and often discussed as fact. Let’s break them down a bit.
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1. Lewis is considering his future
While this might be true, there is no official confirmation of this. The whole story came out of Toto Wolff saying that Lewis is ‘disillusioned’ and that he ‘hopes’ to see Lewis back. Mercedes has continued to post content featuring the Briton on their social media channels, and everything seems to be business as usual.
Some representatives of the media, and some fans, even expect to hear an announcement regarding Lewis’ future. However, since there has been no official announcement that his future is in doubt, there doesn’t need to be any announcement about him continuing in Formula 1.
2. Lewis’ future depends on the FIA’s Abu Dhabi GP investigation
This is another story that has been reported by several media outlets, and supposedly came from some unnamed ‘sources’. Again, while this might or might not be true, there has been no indication from anyone involved that this is the case. Unfortunately this “report” has led to several other more malicious stories.
3. Lewis is ‘pouting’ because he didn’t get what he wants
This one is just plain dumb. Some have tried to imply that Lewis’ silence is nothing but a tantrum because he didn’t get what he wants. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s no denying that the outcome of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was influenced by race director Michael Masi not following the rules, and this favoured Max Verstappen over Hamilton. Without going into speculation on whether Masi did it on purpose, the fact that rules weren’t followed is undeniable.
Taking into consideration that Masi’s decisions prevented Lewis from being able to win the 2021 title, it’s completely understandable that he would feel, as Wolff said, “disillusioned” with the sport. This is not ‘pouting’, this is a serious sports person possibly doubting the integrity of his sport, as are many other observers.
That being said, Lewis didn’t actually say anything, so even this is speculation.
4. Lewis is trying to pressure the FIA to remove people from their positions
This is just a malicious rumour aimed at vilifying Lewis, without absolutely any proof. This theory came out as an opinion from Dutch driver Jeroen Bleekemolen, and even his statement was taken out of context to make it into a clickbait headline of Lewis wanting to see people ‘disappear’.
It’s ridiculous to even comment on this, Lewis made no statements whatsoever, it’s complete and utter rubbish aimed at assassinating Lewis’ character.
5. Lewis does not want to lose to George Russell
This is one of those theories that were perpetuated by certain F1 fans, more so than the media, but is was also covertly stated by some pundits too. The story goes that Lewis might use this situation to leave Formula 1 before he can get beaten by his new team-mate George Russell, and therefore save face.
Not only is this completely a figment of someone’s imagination, but it’s also completely ridiculous. If Lewis had won the 2021 title, what would he do then, announce a surprise retirement?
Lewis had every intention of driving next season, regardless of who his team-mate was, and he himself had stated that he has no interest in racing Russell if the young Briton’s ‘wings are clipped’.
This is another one of those malicious rumours aimed at damaging Lewis’ reputation.
The Conclusion
Going through this list, even I was amazed how much these stories skew towards questioning Lewis’ character and trying to damage his reputation. It’s understandable that the media are stretching themselves to provide content during the slow F1 winter break months, but even then they should maintain a certain level of human decency. Lewis has remained silent since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, perhaps in certain situations the media should too.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of SilverArrows.Net.
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