Mercedes 'welcome back' Lewis Hamilton as Brit's F1 future looks secure

Mercedes have welcomed back Lewis Hamilton on social media, and that appears to have confirmed the Briton’s stay in Formula 1 after weeks of speculation over his future in the sport.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of the 2021 season threatened to lead to Hamilton’s exit from F1, at least according to some reports and rumour mills.

Indeed, Toto Wolff himself said that Lewis had grown disillusioned after the final result at the Yas Marina circuit and, certainly, you could probably understand just why he felt the way he did.

That said, there was a natural concern from Lewis fans that he might walk away ahead of 2022, with his silence on social media speaking volumes as he took time to reflect on the events of both the Abu Dhabi race and the past few months where he had been interlocked in a gripping duel with eventual champ Max Verstappen.

The Briton, though, broke his silence on Saturday with a post across his social media channels saying he was back and, though there was no official confirmation he intended to race in 2022, it has since become increasingly clear that the 7-time champion is going nowhere.

In fact, his team appear to have doubled down on that fact with them posting this on social media at the beginning of the new week:

Welcome back, @LewisHamilton