Former Formula 1 driver Mario Andretti asked Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to avoid retiring, saying that he has plenty to do and offer in 2022.
Hamilton is rumoured to be considering retirement after he was robbed at the Abu Dhabi GP. He was denied a record-breaking eighth world title in highly controversial fashion, and hasn’t been seen since that heartbreaking defeat.
However, the 2022 season offers a fresh chance to go again for title number eight. The seven-time world champion has gone AWOL since Abu Dhabi, and everything is still very much hazy.
Nevertheless, Andretti asked Hamilton to avoid retiring, saying that there is still everything to play for.
“It’s hard to get into somebody else’s head, but from where I stand I would say, ‘You know what? I’m going to go out there and show them!’” the American said, as quoted by Formula1news.co.uk.
“He has a big incentive to be alone with an eighth world title, so what more incentive do you want? He has so much to look forward to, to go out there and still battle. He’s got all the ingredients to be able to fight. That’s the way I see it.”
Fight club
“I’m sure that all of his fans would love to see that (the rivalry between Hamilton and Max Verstappen),” Andretti continued.
“Let this saga continue, with this great rivalry between the two teams and two great drivers.
“I think he would probably even do a disservice to himself, perhaps, to leave under negative circumstances from his standpoint.
“Overall, by ending the way it did, Formula 1 can consider 2021 as a really fantastic season. At the end of the day you cannot argue about the ultimate results in my opinion,” he concluded.
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