06/01/2022
NEWS STORY
FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed that Lewis Hamilton has not responded to a number of messages sent to him in the wake of the Abu Dhabi weekend.
Indeed, almost from the moment the chequered flag fell at the Yas Marina Circuit, other than a very brief post after being knighted on 15 December, there has been total radio silence from the seven time world champion, who is understood to have spent Christmas in Colorado with his father.
Snubbing the official prize-giving ceremony days after the controversial season finale, Hamilton has avoided social media and pretty much all contact with the outside world, certainly that involving F1.
While discussion rages over whether the events of 12 December will cause him to walk away from the sport, newly elected FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed that his messages to Hamilton have gone unanswered.
"I sent him messages, yes," he told Spanish publication Marca. "I think he is not 100% ready yet, and I understand his position."
Asked if he feels Hamilton will turn his back on F1, Ben Sulayem replied: "No, I don't think so, they are just rumours.
"Has he declared that he is not going to run? Exactly, no," he added. "Lewis is an important part of the sport with his achievements."
However, the situation has hardly been helped by Ben Sulayem, who, just hours into his presidency, warned that Hamilton could be punished for missing the official prize-giving.
"There are rules that must be accepted by all drivers," Ben Sulayem told Marca. "For me there is no particular team or driver above the respect for the integrity of the FIA. But I cannot judge until I have all the data and the first thing on my agenda is to thoroughly analyse what happened in Abu Dhabi.
"In the end we are all human and the stress and pressure was there. I think it will all work out. You have to look more to the future than to the past."