Formula 1: Did Lewis Hamilton warn that this was coming?

Lewis Hamilton might have hinted that his silence was coming in his post-race interview after losing the 2021 Formula 1 world championship battle.

Since losing the 2021 Formula 1 world championship battle in heartbreaking and controversial fashion to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the final lap of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has remained silent, aside from his required post-race interview with Sky Sports in the immediate aftermath of the race.

He even skipped the FIA prize-giving gala in Paris, France, despite the fact that he was required to attend as one of the top three finishes in the driver standings and may very well be penalized for the snub. He has also failed to return messages from new FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

But we all should have seen this coming, because if you paid attention to his post-race interview, he effectively warned us.

Here is his final line from that interview last month.

"“If I’m honest, you know, we’re still in the pandemic and I just really wish everyone to stay safe and have a good Christmas with all their families and then we’ll see about next year.”"

Since making these comments, he has not addressed the public in any way.

He has not posted anything to his social media accounts since posting pictures after qualifying on the front row alongside Verstappen the day before the race.

So it appears that he was serious about waiting until after Christmas before seeing about next year — exactly like he spelled out for us.

The only question that remains now is when, exactly, he will do that, because while we are now technically in “next year”, any time during the rest of the offseason would qualify as being post-Christmas.

How much more time will he take for himself before returning to the public eye? Does he already know his plans?

The 2022 Formula 1 season is scheduled to get underway in just over two months with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, March 20.

But preseason testing is scheduled to take place next month at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from Monday, February 21 to Friday, February 25, and more testing is scheduled to take place at Bahrain International Circuit from Thursday, March 10 to Saturday, March 12.