Lewis Hamilton has lately unraveled that the “scar” inflicted on him 18 months ago is still there. Talking about the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix loss to Max Verstappen, Hamilton stated ahead of the Miami Grand Prix that it “never truly” left him.
Speaking about this with ESPN UK, the Mercedes star revealed that he still suffers from it even after a season and a half. He then went on to deliver an example to emphasize the heartbreak.
The 38-year-old compared the Abu Dhabi loss with that of his first love and first heartbreak. As people can never forget their first love and first heartbreak. Similarly, the UAE scar will always be there in his memory.
Following this, Hamilton said about the Yas Marina Circuit race, “Abu Dhabi, the scar is there and there will always be that memory.” Since the race in Abu Dhabi in 2021, Hamilton and his dominating Mercedes challenger have never been the same.
It took a whole year to push through, revealed Hamilton
The Mercedes ace spent a whole season pushing through the heartbreak he experienced back in 2021. The last lap of the last race that took away his chances to be the greatest ever driver still continues to hurt him, he revealed.
Even after trying to re-program his mind, he managed to hold the emotions off as they were immediately off to work the next season. But it wasn’t a quick thing, shared the seven-time world champion.
Don’t ever forget your power. Don’t ever forget your purpose. Don’t ever forget that I’m rooting for you. pic.twitter.com/yKHdD3BUPa
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) October 14, 2022
Admittedly, the British driver was away from the public eye for two months after the race concluded. In those times, he spent time with his family and stayed away from making public appearances.
Such incidents made Mercedes stronger, believes the maestro
Talking about how the entire team was dejected after their loss to Red Bull and Verstappen, Hamilton stated that all these incidents strengthened the team as a whole. Apart from the team, it was a huge strengthening experience for him, personally, as well.
The Silver Arrows ace learned that one can’t always win, and to go through that and become a better teammate, Hamilton had an eye-opening experience. The 38-year-old is also grateful for the valuable lesson of pulling people together and lifting the team.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has indeed been one of the most exciting and controversial races in the history of Formula 1. The race that stopped Lewis Hamilton from being the greatest-ever F1 driver also enabled a new world champion by the name of Max Verstappen.
