Even if you don’t follow F1 racing, there is still a good chance that you know who Lewis Hamilton is. Many consider him the greatest of all time and his resume definitely supports that. 7 World Championships, 103 wins, 189 podiums, and 59 fastest laps. From 2017 to 2020, Lewis won 4 championships in a row. With this dominant of a hot streak you would think that his racing career is far from over. But a controversy concerning the last race of the season and the championship decider of 2021 might change the racing legend’s plans. 

The 2021 F1 season was one of the most exciting the sport has had in years. Max Verstappen, an upcoming star in the F1 racing scene, stepped up for Red Bull Racing Team in the 2021 season. Him and Lewis Hamilton went back and forth for the championship throughout the year. Whenever the two were 1st and 2nd, fans knew that it was going to be a fight to the finish, with neither drivers letting up. The competitive nature of both drivers caused some drama on the race track. Max Verstappen was crashed out of first place by Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix and on one occasion, at the Italian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s car ended up on top of Hamilton’s. Through all of the drama and conditions, the two would be tied going into the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi. All one had to do was place higher than the other rival driver and he would be crowned the 2021 F1 Champion.

The race was set. The championship was on the line. F1 set a record for their most viewed race on American television with 963,000 people watching. Everyone was ready for the most exciting race of the season. Lewis Hamilton was eager to gain his 8th World Champion title and his 5th in a row. He took an early and dominant lead over Max Verstappen. Hamilton was setting fastest lap after fastest lap on old tires. It was late into the race, Lewis was in first and Verstappen in second 12 seconds behind, (but with lapped cars in between them.) It seemed like an easy win for Hamilton.

But on lap 53 out of 58 Williams Racing driver, Nicholas Latifi, spun and crashed into the wall. The safety car came out and all cars got in line. Hamilton in front with five lapped cars between him and Verstappen. Just before the safety car went back into the pits racing director, Michael Massi, ordered for the lapped cars to be allowed to pass the safety car to make up for the lap they were down. Mercedes team manager, Toto Wolff, was furious because this left Verstappen wheel to wheel with Hamilton going into the last lap of the race. Hamilton’s tires were over 40 laps old at the time and Verstappen was on fresh, grippy tires. Lewis was able to hold off the rival Red Bull driver at the start of the last lap, but on the first tight turn, Max overtook him and the lead. Hamilton tried to get past on the straights, but it wasn’t enough and Max Verstappen won the 2021 F1 World Championship. 

About a week after the last lap incident, rumors started surfacing that Lewis would retire from the sport before the start of the 2022 season. He has remained inactive from social media since the race. His team manager has raised concern as well saying that he can give no assurances Lewis Hamilton will continue in the 2022 season.

In 2015 the legend himself said, “When I think about what year I would probably end up stopping, it’d be about 37 maybe.” Hamilton celebrated his 37th birthday on January 7. The lead driver on the grid might have already had thoughts about retiring and the controversial end to the title race might have swayed him more towards leaving the sport.

The head organization of Formula 1, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile,) are investigating the last lap decision by Michael Massi. At the time that this is written it looks like the investigation is a big factor in Lewis’s decision. With the investigation set to go to March, who knows what might happen?