Lewis Hamilton addresses F1 retirement talk: ‘I'll be the one to decide when my masterpiece is finished’
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Published 28/04/2022 at 10:35 GMT
Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko poked fun at Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes driver was lapped by Max Verstappen on Sunday, saying: “Maybe he is thinking he should have stopped last year!" Seven-time world champion Hamilton has since addressed the retirement talk, insisting his “masterpiece” is not over yet.
Hamilton - 'worst that it's felt' as he finishes 13th
Lewis Hamilton says he will call the shots on his own retirement after a difficult start to the Formula One season has fuelled talk he could quit the sport.
The seven-time champion is seventh in the drivers’ standings after four races, and says his shot at the championship is already over given Mercedes’ struggles with porpoising issues.
Hamilton controversially missed out on an eighth title last year when pipped to the line by Max Verstappen, and a sign of the former’s downfall in fortunes was evident on Sunday when he finished 13th and was lapped by his rival at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko suggested Hamilton may have wished he retired at the end of last season, telling Sky Sports News: "I mean, he was lapped by us. Maybe he is thinking he should have stopped last year!"
But Hamilton has appeared to hit back, taking to Instagram to declare his “masterpiece” is not yet finished.
“Working on my masterpiece, I’ll be the one to decide when it’s finished,” he said.
Speaking after Sunday’s race, Hamilton already conceded his title fight was over, saying: “There's no question about that, but I'll still keep working as hard as I can to try and somehow pull it back together somehow."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, meanwhile, was apologetic, saying “sorry” to Hamilton on the team radio and admitting the car has not matched the Briton’s standards.
"We are not good enough for a world champion, not worthy for a world champion. We just need to fix the car,” Wolff said.
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Forget the title, says Hamilton, we just want top 10
"Lewis deserves better from us. But we are a team, so we all need to do the upmost in order to provide him with a machine that is able to fight for the front positions.
"The guy is the best driver in the world and he is just not having the machine and the equipment underneath him to be able to execute."
The fifth race of the season takes place on May 8 with the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
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