Toto Wolff thinks he is unsure whether Lewis Hamilton will continue racing in Formula 1 as the seven-time champion is “disillusioned” with the fact that he has lost this year’s title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton was denied a record eighth championship on the final lap amid a controversial finish in Abu Dhabi. FIA track director Michael Masi appeared to have ignored F1’s sporting regulations to set up a one-round finish as Hamilton was at a significant disadvantage to Max Verstappen in terms of his tire count. ta.
On Thursday, Mercedes confirmed it will not pursue a call to results, officially confirmed Verstappen as the champion.
Mercedes still plans to leave the FIA in charge of events in Abu Dhabi – the FIA said on Wednesday it would investigate the final laps as part of a “clarification exercise”, which Mercedes and the teams Another F1 will join.
Wolff says he and Hamilton will likely never get over how the race ends.
“Lewis and I are disillusioned at the moment,” Wolff said on a Zoom media call on Thursday, after confirming that the two would not be at the FIA’s awards gala on Thursday.
“We’re not disillusioned with the sport – we love it to the bone, and we love it because the chronograph never lies.
“But if we break that fundamental principle of fair play in sport and sport authenticity, then suddenly the chronograph is no longer relevant because we’re exposed to decision-making. It’s obvious that you might not love it. prove to be the best possible achievement on the track or not, because it can be taken away at random.
“It’s going to take a long time for us to digest what happened on Sunday, I don’t think we’ll ever get over it. It’s impossible. And certainly not as a driver. “
Asked if he has spoken to Hamilton about his desire to race in 2022, Wolff said: “I’m in daily dialogue with him but also respect that there’s not much to talk about into that. We each deal in our own way with the emotions we have at this time.
“I just need to do the best I can to help him get through his impending emotions to ensure that he comes back strong, with a love of sport and confidence in the sport’s decisions next year. We very much hope that this will be the case.”
Wolff said for a “man with clear values” like Hamilton, Sunday’s results were hard to accept.
He added: “I very much hope that Lewis continues to race because he is the greatest driver of all time. When you look at it from the point of view of the last four races, he has dominated, there’s not even a doubt who won the Race, and that’s well deserved to win the world championship.
“So we’ll be working through the events in the coming weeks and months. I think as a racer his heart will say ‘I need to move on’ because he’s at the top. high of the game, but we had to get over the pain it was caused when we met him on Sunday, also because he was a man of obvious value and it’s hard to understand how that happened.”
