Seven-time F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton insists that being awarded the 2021 World Title now would give him zero satisfaction.
Lewis Hamilton lost out on last year’s Title on the final lap of the season finale in heartbreaking fashion. Then race director Michael Masi’s controversial decision-making created a chain of events that led to Max Verstappen overtaking Hamilton on the final lap.
There was immense backlash after the race, as most people felt that the Championship win was stolen from the Mercedes driver. They even protested against the result which was dismissed by the FIA almost immediately. It’s been almost a year since the incident, but Hamilton hasn’t forgotten how unfair that defeat was.
Despite that, the Brit insists that he does not want the Title to be awarded to him anymore. He admits that it felt horrible at the moment, but it has passed now. Hamilton vows to fight for his eighth World Title, once again on track in the coming years.
Hamilton was proud of Mercedes’ efforts in 2021 season
Earlier this year, the FIA found Red Bull guilty of spending more than their allocated budget. This angered the entire paddock and some fans started demanding for points deduction for the outfit.
Hamilton fans in particular, were hopeful that the FIA would deduct points off Verstappen which would hand Hamilton his eighth World Title. However, even if they decide to do that, the 37-year-old stated that it would bring him zero satisfaction.
#F1: Lewis Hamilton says getting his title back would bring him zero satisfaction: “No, because the damage is done. I have my feeling within of what we did as a team, how we achieved it and what we really truly achieved, and I can keep that to myself within me.”
— deni (@fiagirly) October 27, 2022
“The damage is done,” he said. “I have my feeling within of what we did as a team. How we achieved it and what we really truly achieved, and I can keep that to myself within me. We gave it our all and we did it the right way, and I am proud of that.”
Abu Dhabi defeat was ‘soul crushing’ for Lewis Hamilton
Even though the moment of agony has passed for Hamilton, he still can’t get over how everything went against him that evening in Yas Island. Speaking to Motorsport.com, the former McLaren driver admitted that the defeat demotivated him to a huge extent.
LAP 58/58
Verstappen passes Hamilton on the final lap!
WOW#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Js5BseCwZq
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
“I mean, it was definitely spirit-breaking, or soul-crushing, whatever you want to call it,” he continued.
Hamilton accepts that there may be mistakes made by teams over the course of a season. On the other hand, losing out on a World Championship because of a mistake made by organization was something which made him question the entire system.
