Hamilton Won't Let Last Season's Failure Define His Career

Lewis Hamilton (instagram @lewishamilton)

JAKARTA - Lewis Hamilton said he had "lost a bit of faith" in Formula One (F1) after the traumatic end of his 2021 world championship campaign but vowed not to let setbacks define his career.

The Briton was poised to claim an eighth world title in December's season finale in Abu Dhabi before a controversial safety car restart allowed Max Verstappen to overtake him on the final lap.

The 37-year-old was disappointed after his loss at Yas Marina and at one stage it was not clear if he would return to the grid.

Michael Masi was removed as F1 racing director Thursday after his controversial role in organizing the fight for the title.

Hamilton admits that every year he asks himself if he has the desire to become world champion.

"It's a normal mental process for me, but this year it was made worse by a significant factor about the sport I've loved all my life," Hamilton said, speaking to the media at the launch of the 2022 Mercedes F1 car.

"There were moments where I lost a little bit of trust. I put my trust and trust in each other and trust can be lost in the blink of an eye or the snap of a finger."

"But I am a persistent person and I like to reason with myself that times like this might define someone else's career, I would refuse to let it define mine."

The FIA has also announced an overhaul of race controls, while an investigation into the final lap in Abu Dhabi is ongoing.

Hamilton said he was pleased the governing body was taking steps to improve procedures, adding that "we must use this moment to make sure this never happens to anyone else in the sport again."

Determined to attack

The Briton revealed he didn't want to look back on the race, adding that he didn't blame Dutch rival Verstappen for what happened.

"It was definitely a tough time for me," Hamilton said.

"I just unplugged it on and off. It took some time to digest what happened and it's still hard to make sense of it all."

"But eventually I got to the point where I decided to attack again the following season."

Mercedes filed, and later overturned, their appeal against the race results in a quid pro quo agreement which reportedly saw Masi being fired by the FIA.

However, Mercedes team head Toto Wolff said "Retracting the appeal attributed to anyone leaving the FIA is incorrect."

"A restructuring within the FIA of how decisions are made is needed. Last year was a great season but it created a lot of polarization with decisions that weren't always easy to understand."

Masi, who will be offered a new position in the FIA, found himself on edge after calling the safety car for the final lap and controversially allowing the backmarker between race leaders Hamilton and Verstappen to break loose.

That led to a one-round penalty shootout between Hamilton and Verstappen, who with the new tires had a huge advantage and he capitalized on it to stunning effect when he singled out Hamilton to seal the title.

Mercedes have switched from black - used over the past two seasons in the fight against racism - to their traditional silver color for F1 2022.

Hamilton and his new team-mate, fellow Briton George Russell, will be in action in next week's first test in Barcelona ahead of the new season, which starts in Bahrain on March 20.