WATCH: ’I never ever said I was going to stop’, says Lewis Hamilton

London - Lewis Hamilton insisted Friday he never said he was going to quit Formula One despite the traumatic end to his 2021 world championship campaign.

The British driver, 37, was speaking for the first time since he lost the championship in controversial circumstances to Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi on December 12.

"I never ever said I was going to stop," said seven-time champion Hamilton at the launch of the 2022 Mercedes car.

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"I love doing what I do, and it is such a privilege working with this large group of people and you feel like you are part of a family. There is nothing quite like it."

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