Before the 1993-94 NBA season, Michael Jordan shockingly announced his retirement from professional basketball. He was 29 years old, still in his physical prime and the most successful basketball player on the planet. The Chicago Bulls legend lost his desire to play basketball and wanted to pursue a baseball career. Jordan’s decision was primarily influenced by the brutal murder of his father during the prior offseason. Many Formula 1 fans thought they were in a similar boat when Lewis Hamilton took a hiatus from social media after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In Abu Dhabi, Hamilton lost the FIA World Drivers’ Championship on the final lap of the entire season under highly controversial circumstances created by race director Michael Masi. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated that Hamilton and himself were both disillusioned with the sport. Those comments combined with the British driver’s absence from social media fed widely-circulated rumors of a potential retirement. Though, those rumors were seemingly put to rest today.
On Twitter and Instagram, Lewis Hamilton posted a picture of himself on vacation at the Grand Canyon, captioned, “I’ve been gone. Now I’m back!” Hamilton’s succinct message is reminiscent of how Michael Jordan ended his retirement and returned to the Bulls. Jordan announced his return with a two-word message, “I’m back.” attached to a press release faxed to the media by his agent.
While no other information has been released alongside the social media posts, most now presume that Lewis Hamilton will be taking part in the 2022 Formula 1 season. The FIA is still investigating the conclusion of the F1 season finale and will present its findings to the World Motor Sport Council on the eve of the 2022 F1 season opener in Bahrain. Until then, it won’t be entirely clear what the FIA will do in response to last season’s controversial finished.
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