LEWUS HAMILTON described Red Bull’s cost-cap breach as another “kick” – after he controversially lost out on the Formula One title.
Hamilton was pipped on the very final lap of the 2021 season when race director Michael Masi ignored the safety car rules to manufacture a blockbuster ending to the season.
Max Verstappen, on fresh tyres, was able to overtake his rival and pip him to the chequered flag – and therefore the world championship.
It has now been revealed the Dutchman’s team DID breach the £114million spending limit last year.
Hamilton, 37, labelled the Abu Dhabi fiasco as “spirit-breaking” and “soul-crushing” and then admitted the extra blow of Red Bull’s rule-breaking “for sure brings up a little bit of emotion”.
The seven-time world champ – who wants “transparency” from the FIA – said: “Because you kind of buried it and moved on and then it comes back up and it’s like another bit of a kick.
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“And, yeah, that just bought it all kind of fresh again.
“So then [it was a case of] just getting back into the phase of just suppressing it and moving forwards.”
Red Bull insist they operated under the limit and claim they are innocent of any wrongdoing.
Their overspend, estimated to be around £1.8m, triggered a ‘minor’ breach of the regulations, but was way short of the £10m initially mooted.
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Red Bull now face a dilemma of whether to sign up to the FIA’s punishment and admit their guilt, despite their stance.
It is believed that such a penalty will include a fine, plus a possible reduction in windtunnel development or even a reduced budget for future seasons.
However, if they choose to appeal the FIA’s proposed penalty and take it to an independent panel of judges, they could risk an even-harsher penalty, should they fail.
Hamilton took a complete break after the end of last season, including a social media silence, as he contemplated his future.
There was speculation he may even retire and walk away from the sport after he felt disillusioned by the way events unfolded.
Hamilton added: “Was I ever truly not going to come back? I am not one to give up like that, really.
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“What really was breaking was to just believe that the sport would do something like that, that that would happen, given that there are so many people you rely on. You expect that the job would be done right.
“And [that] an outcome of a world championship which so many people have worked so hard for would come out through a wrong decision from somebody, you know?
“That was probably the only thing. It wasn’t for my lack of love for working with my team or racing cars; it was literally that.
“If you can lose a championship through wrongdoing within an organisation, that was the thing that I wondered whether…
“But I spent time with my family and that was really the best part of the healing, really. I just gave all of my time to the kids [his nephews and nieces], building snowmen and just being present with them.
“That enabled me to really recover, really bounce back. If I wasn’t with them, I would have been stuck in a hole.”
Hamilton has three races left of the 2022 season – giving him three chances to break his duck for the year.
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The Stevenage star has won at least one race in every single F1 season he has competed in, dating back to 2007.
But the problematic Mercedes car and Red Bull and Ferrari dominance have left him trailing well behind his rivals.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
