Hamilton targets future on return to scene of rancorous ‘injustice’
ABU DHABI: Lewis Hamilton returns to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend 11 months on from one of the most rancorous days in Formula One history, insisting he has ‘put the past behind him’.
His bid for an unprecedented eighth drivers’ world title at the Yas Marina circuit last December was thwarted by a combination of incorrect decisions by race officials, wretched bad luck and the opportunism of Max Verstappen.
As a result, while his Mercedes team triumphed in the constructors’ title race for an eighth consecutive season, he was left to digest the outcome of a sporting injustice which has reverberated ever since. But Hamilton, who will be 38 in January, and whose act of congratulating his Dutch rival in the immediate aftermath of that bitter defeat concealed a profound disappointment, has remained stoical.
As Red Bull and Verstappen romped to glory in both the teams’ and drivers’ championships this year, while Mercedes grappled to understand and develop a stubbornly temperamental car, he became entirely a team man.
His third consecutive second-placed finish as team-mate George Russell claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory in Brazil last Sunday was a reward of emotional significance just as, ironically, Red Bull’s unity was threatened by internal strife.
“I am very much here in the present,” he said, ahead of this weekend’s seasonfinale.
“I am not arriving here thinking of the past at all, not one bit. I am focussed. I’m not sure if our car will work well here this weekend, but if there is a chance, we’ll go for it.” As more unverified allegations on Wednesday added fuel to a simmering dispute between Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, whose heroic defensive drive last year helped enable the Dutchman’s triumph, the ‘silver arrows’ occupied a position of unity.
“For me, our success in Brazil, the onetwo last Sunday, is all down to the huge effort of our team’s workforce in the UK,” said Hamilton. “They have been so determined all year.”
Sunday’s race will not have the high stakes of 2021, but for Hamilton it represents a last chance to keep alive his record of winning at least once in every season of his record-breaking Formula One career.
He has a record total of 103 wins to his name, including five at the Yas Marina track where Verstappen has won the last two contests, but such statistics are not his or Mercedes’ priority.