Mercedes hopes Hamilton won't leave F1 after disappointment

Hamilton was on course for his eighth F1 drivers’ title last Sunday at the Yas Marina circuit, when Nicholas Latifi ‘s crash five laps from the end and the safety car coming on changed everything and allowed Max Verstappen to win the race. race to take his first championship, according to Mercedes , after a mismanagement of events by Race Direction .

Although Mercedes protested the result and appealed the decision, the team opted this Thursday not to continue with the process .

Wolff has explained that both he and Hamilton will struggle to overcome “the pain and anguish” generated after the race, and he hopes that the disappointment of losing the title in such a controversial way does not push Hamilton towards the exit door of Formula 1.

“Lewis and I are disappointed at this point,” Wolff said. “We are not disillusioned with the sport, we love the sport with every bone in our body and we love it because the stopwatch never lies.”

“But if we break the fundamental principle of sporting fairness and the authenticity of sport, suddenly the stopwatch is no longer relevant because we expose ourselves to random decision-making. Clearly that can make you fall out of love.”

“And you start to question whether all the work you’ve been putting in, the sweat, the tears and the blood can really show through by making the best performances on the track, because chance can take that away from you.”

“We will never get over the pain and anguish he caused us on Sunday.

“I would very much like Lewis to keep racing, because he is the greatest driver of all time,” added Wolff. “When you look at it from the point of view of the last four races, he dominated them, on Sunday there was not even a question of who won the race. And that was deserving of winning the world championship.

“So we’re going to work through a series of events in the coming weeks and months. And I think as a rider, your heart will tell you that you have to keep going because you’re in the best moment of your career.”

“But we have to get over the pain that it caused him on Sunday, too, because he’s a man with clear values. And it’s hard to understand what happened.”

Lewis Hamilton

Wolff added that Hamilton was a party to both decisions to appeal and then withdraw, noting that neither wanted to win the title “in court.” He said it was incredibly difficult for the team to withdraw the appeal, feeling it had been slapped over “impromptu” interpretations of the sporting regulations during the Abu Dhabi race.

“Every step along the way was a joint decision,” explained Wolff. “We decided together with Lewis to protest, file the appeal and withdraw the appeal. As you can imagine, not only for him, but also for us as a team, it was terrible to be faced with a decision that decided the outcome of the world championship.”

“But none of us, neither him nor us, wanted to win a world championship in a courtroom.”

“But on the other hand we were deeply aggrieved on Sunday and it wasn’t just a case of a bad decision, it was an impromptu reading of the rules and it left Lewis an easy target.”

Gallery: the last lights of the 2021 Formula 1 season

Pierre Gasly, Mule AlphaTauri AT01

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Sebastian Vettel, Mule Aston Martin AMR21

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Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Pierre Gasly, adapted AlphaTauri AT01 (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Robert Shwartzman, Haas VF-21

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Robert Shwartzman, Haas VF-21

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Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF90 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo Racing C39 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas F1 Team VF-19 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M adapted (muleto) with the Pirelli 18 inches

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Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF90 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Fernando Alonso, Alpine/Renault RS18 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF90 adapted (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images

Pierre Gasly, adapted AlphaTauri AT01 (muleto) with the 18-inch Pirelli

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Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images