A sudden bout of intrigue, sparked by a puzzling radio message delivered by Lewis Hamilton at the end of last Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, has been nipped in the bud by the Mercedes team.
Hamilton’s weekend in Brazil was as dismal and gloomy as the monsoon-loke local weather at Interlagos.
Knocked out of the opening phase of qualifying early on Sunday morning for the second time in three races, he could only manage a laborious run to tenth in the afternoon’s 71-lap event, well adrift of teammate George Russell who concluded his day fourth.
As he collected his dispirited thoughts on the race’s cool-down lap, the seven-time world champion didn’t hold back his disappointment.
“That was a disaster of a weekend, guys,” he said on the radio. “The worst the car has ever been. Thank you for contributing to try and great job to all the guys at the pit-stop.”
But it was the Briton’s final comment that sent his fans on social media into a tailspin.
“If this is the last time I get to perform, it was a shame it wasn’t great, but [I am] grateful for you.”
While some suggested that Hamilton was simply bidding farewell to certain team members that won’t be taking part in F1’s final races, others hinted that the message equated to an abrupt and premature end to his tenure with Mercedes.
However, in an exchange with the PA news agency, Mercedes swiftly pushed back on the speculation, insisting “there are no such plans for the British driver to be replaced”.
Hamilton’s frustrations of late have been palpable. Since breaking his two-and-a-half-year winless drought at the British Grand Prix in July, a triumph followed by a podium in Hungary and another win at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, the future Ferrari driver has been wrestling with the inconsistency of his W15 silver arrow.
The setbacks have left the F1 veteran a lowly seventh in F1’s Drivers’ standings, two points behind Russell but a mammoth 203 points adrift of leader Max Verstappen.
Las Vegas at the end of the month is Formula 1’s next port of call, with Sin City kicking off the sport’s epilogue and final triple header. In the interim, the rumor mill will likely continue to spin, as the drama of F1 never seems to wane, making every race weekend an opportunity for fresh gossip and renewed excitement.
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