While he has yet to post on his personal account this offseason, seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has returned to social media.
Immediately following his heartbreaking world championship defeat at the hands of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the final lap of the 2021 Formula 1 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit back on Sunday, December 12, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was interviewed by Sky Sports.
But since that interview, he has all but disappeared from the public eye, save for when he was knighted at Windsor Castle later that week.
To this day, his most recent posts on social media are still the pictures he shared the day before, when he qualified alongside Verstappen on the front row for the Decider in the Desert.
Throughout the offseason, there has been speculation that Hamilton might not return to Formula 1 for the 2022 season, despite the fact that he signed a deal to remain with Mercedes through 2023 back in the summer.
Team principal Toto Wolff admitted that the way the final lap of the season was handled left Hamilton “disillusioned” heading into the offseason.
Even with preseason testing scheduled to begin in just three weeks at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the 2022 season itself scheduled to get underway next month, the jury is still out on Hamilton’s future, and it will likely stay that way for quite some time.
But Hamilton has now returned to social media, though it’s not quite how you’d expect; it is worth noting that he still hasn’t yet posted anything himself since December.
The 37-year-old Briton was featured in a Mercedes video alongside George Russell, who replaced Valtteri Bottas at the Silver Arrows after the 2021 season, celebrating the Chinese New Year.
This video was posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo. In it, Hamilton stated the following:
"“Hi everyone, I wish you a Happy Chinese New Year. May the New Year bring you good luck and everything you wish for.”"
Russell added the following:
"“Hi guys. I’d like to wish you a Happy Chinese New Year. I’m excited to join the AMG family and become part of the world’s fastest family. See you soon and stay safe.”"
The fact that Hamilton has now formally addressed the public in association with the team could actually be quite notable, considering his absence from the post-season videos. But while some will take this as an indication that he plans to be back with the Brackley-based team for 2022, there is still nothing that has been said in that regard.
Technically, nothing really needs to be said unless he decides not to return, as he is, in fact, under contract for another two years. However, given the uncertainty surrounding this offseason and just how unprecedented the events were that led up to it, don’t expect anything to be subtle if he does decide to come back.
In addition to the preseason test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from Wednesday, February 23 to Friday, February 25, Bahrain International Circuit is scheduled to host a test from Thursday, March 10 to Saturday, March 12 ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, March 20.