With the start of the new F1 season less than two months away, Hamilton is still unsure whether to compete. The safety car controversy that occurred in last season's finale has not yet been completely settled, and the two sides are still engaged in a constant war of words, which also makes Hamilton's return prospects confusing.
Horner: Hamilton lost the title due to a tactical error in Mayben
In the final moments of last season's finale, Latifi crashed to trigger a safety car, Verstappen seized the opportunity to enter the station and put on a new soft tire, while Mercedes let Hamilton stay outside to be on the safe side. There was a good chance that the race would not be restarted, but on the penultimate lap, The Club Officer Michael Massy announced the restart of the race while letting the safety car out, which caught Mebben off guard, and Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the last lap to win the race and the drivers' championship this season.
Mercedes was furious after the match, protesting and appealing, and missing the FIA awards ceremony, but the result of the race could not be changed. Now that more than a month has passed since the race, Mercedes is still angry, and they have been asking the FIA to remove Michael Massy from his position or risk boycotting the competition.
But in the eyes of Red Bull manager Horner, Mercedes is completely unreasonable, and he believes that Hamilton lost the championship in large part because of Mercedes's own tactical mistakes: "If we look at the whole season, we have a lot of bad luck, but good luck is on our side at the most critical time. Safety cars were unavoidable at the time, tactically we made the right decision, while Mercedes did the opposite. ”
Horner continued: "Mercedes left Hamilton out there, which meant that after the game restarted, he would be completely exposed to Verstappen's firepower. It was a normal decision for the race director to restart the game, and verstappen overtook Hamilton in just one lap to win the title, which was a wonderful feeling and the most incredible part of this wonderful season. ”
Insider: Hamilton's current silence is acting
After the end of the season, Hamilton remained silent except for his knighthood and farewell ceremony for teammate Bottas, with many F1 professionals fearing that the "seven-time champion" would say goodbye to F1, and even Mercedes-led Wolff acknowledged that Hamilton did have the possibility of retiring.
But an insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hamilton would never quit F1 and that all he was doing so far was just acting: "It's just part of the drama. In fact, Lewis (Hamilton) will have a very competitive car in the new season and he has countless reasons to stay in the paddock. If he really wants to retire, he should have announced it to the outside world a long time ago, otherwise Mercedes would not have been able to prepare for the new season. (Text/Li Tianyou)