Formula 1 testing starts this month, and Lewis Hamilton is silent

Formula 1 preseason testing is scheduled to begin later this month, and Lewis Hamilton still hasn’t said a word since the 2021 season finale.

We are more than halfway through the offseason between the 2021 and 2022 Formula 1 seasons, and preseason testing is scheduled to get underway later this month.

However, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton continues to be silent.

The Mercedes driver has not addressed the public since his interview with Sky Sports on Sunday, December 12, immediately after the dramatic and controversial end to the 2021 season that saw him lose out on what would have been a record-breaking eighth title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.

He still hasn’t made a single social media post since the day before the race, when he qualified alongside Verstappen on the front row.

With team principal Toto Wolff admitting that Hamilton was left feeling “disillusioned” by what happened in Abu Dhabi, there have been rumors that Hamilton will retire from Formula 1 before the 2022 season, despite the fact that he just signed a contract extension over the summer to remain with the team through the 2023 season.

Interestingly, both Wolff and Hamilton skipped the FIA prize-giving gala, which Hamilton was required to attend as a top three finisher in the standings. That snub is likely to draw some kind of penalty if Hamilton does return for 2022.

While everyone seems to think that the 37-year-old Briton will indeed return for a 16th season in Formula 1 and a 10th with the Silver Arrows, with some even calling his offseason silence an “act”, he has yet to formally confirm his plans for the upcoming season.

But is there really any need for a “formal confirmation” if he is returning? He did, after all, sign a contract extension with Mercedes last summer, so the only true need for any sort of an announcement would arise if he were to call it quits early, as it would also put the team in a spot to name his replacement.

One would think that if he did have plans to quit, Mercedes would have known quite a while ago, especially with preseason testing rapidly approaching.

Formula 1 preseason testing is scheduled to get underway in three weeks on Wednesday, February 23 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and this particular session is scheduled to run through Friday, February 25.

Will Hamilton be behind the wheel of the W13 for this test?

A separate test session is scheduled to take place at the site of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit. This test is scheduled to last from Thursday, March 10 to Saturday, March 12. The season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 20.