Mercedes has celebrated the anniversary of Lewis Hamilton joining the team amid speculation about the British driver’s future in Formula One.
It has now been nine years since Hamilton swapped McLaren for the Germany-based team, a time during which the 37-year-old won six world titles to join Michael Schumacher as the most successful driver in F1 history.
Hamilton is now said to be considering staying on the grid in 2022 after being disappointed by a controversial end to the 2021 season when Max Verstappen clinched the Drivers’ Championship win last time out in Abu Dhabi.
While his own absence from social media continues, Hamilton’s team tweeted a celebratory graphic of their driver’s achievements since joining Mercedes.
In 178 starts, Hamilton has scored 3252.5 points, boosted by 82 wins.
Hamilton signed for the team with just a single world title, securing it in 2008 as the youngest world champion in history at the time, a record since surpassed by Sebastian Vettel.
He is said to await the results of an FIA investigation into events in Abu Dhabi before deciding whether to return for the 2022 season, which begins in Bahrain in March.
Race director Michael Masi’s decision to allow the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to lap themselves was called into question after the spot offered Verstappen a chance to launch a title-winning overtake on the final lap.
Should he return, Hamilton will be joined by George Russell at Mercedes next year.
The 23-year-old Briton comes from Williams and replaces Valtteri Bottas, now at Alfa Romeo.
