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Newly elected FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem is confident Lewis Hamilton will return to the grid later this year amidst rumors of the Briton's retirement. Hamilton has been silent since his final lap loss to Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi, sparking rumors of his retirement from the sport.
Mohammed ben Sulayem was elected president of the FIA after Jean Todt's term came to an end in mid-December 2021. The former rally driver claims he is confident Hamilton will return to the grid in 2022 and will compete once again for a record-breaking eighth title win in the sport. He said:
“I am confident, very confident, that there will be, it [Lewis Hamilton] is a fundamental part of our sport.”
The newly elected president claimed he would penalize Hamilton for failing to attend the FIA prize-giving gala, where the top three drivers of the season are obligated to attend. Sulayem, however, clarified his statement, saying he doesn't want to decide without any investigation. He said in an interview at the Dakar rally:
“I just sent him [Lewis Hamilton] a message, I don't think he’s 100% ready to talk about what happened yet, I understand his position. It is not a question of punishing a rider or a team, but of enforcing the rules, but I don’t want to make a decision without having studied the facts in-depth.”
Mohammed ben Sulayem was elected FIA president in mid-December after long-time executive Jean Todt retired from the post. A former rally driver himself, Sulayem is one of the Arab world's leading motorsports figures, having participated in rallies from 1988 to 1995.
Former FIA president Jean Todt nearly gave Lewis Hamilton six-race ban in 2011
Former FIA president Jean Todt nearly gave Lewis Hamilton a six-race ban for cracking a 'racist' joke at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2011. The Briton was penalized several times that weekend and jokingly said, "Maybe it's because I'm black," provoking a strong response from the French FIA president.
The then 26-year-old driver called Todt separately and apologized for his comments. The Frenchman told the Guardian and other newspapers:
“I did not advertise it. It’s between him and the FIA. I could have asked our judicial court to address the problem. We never officially opened the case. Maybe it would have been a better decision to put him to the court. To ban him for six grands prix. But he wrote to me and I wrote to him and the thing is over.”
With Mohammed ben Sulayem confident of Lewis Hamilton's return to the sport in 2022, fans can look forward to another intense championship battle between the Briton and Max Verstappen.
