F1: Hamilton “will never overcome pain and distress” Abu Dhabi | Motoring News

The Mercedes leader says he will need time at the end of the F1 season that Hamilton lost at Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton will not overcome the pain of “stealing” his eighth Formula One title, Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff said in comments that raised doubts about the driver’s future.

Wolff spoke to reporters that he and Hamilton would not attend the FIA ​​gala awards in Paris this evening, where they will present him with the Red Bull Max Verstapp trophy.

The first three drivers must attend the awards ceremony in accordance with Article 6.6 of the Formula One sports regulations.

Hamilton lost to Verstappen, after the Dutch driver overtook Yas Marina on the final lap, allowing him to start the race again with a sudden change in the car safety procedure.

“We need a lot to digest what happened on Sunday. I don’t think we’ll ever come, that’s not possible, ”Wolff said.

“And certainly not him [Hamilton] as a driver. I hope he and the rest of the team can work on the events … But he will never overcome the pain and sorrow he caused on Sunday. “

Mercedes won the constructors ’title for an unprecedented eighth year and Wolff said technical manager James Allison would be in Paris to collect the trophy on behalf of all the staff.

“I won’t be there because of my loyalty to Lewis and my personal integrity,” he said.

Hamilton spoke briefly after the 2009 World Champions Jenson Button race on Sunday before the podium events, but did not make a statement after the race and has not spoken publicly since.

He avoided saying anything after being knighted at Windsor Palace on Wednesday.

Asked if Hamilton would return 37 next year in January for a two-year contract, Wolff said that was not a certainty.

“I would highly expect Lewis to continue in the race because he is the greatest driver of all time,” he said.

“As a runner, his heart will tell me I have to keep going because he is at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain they caused on Sunday. He is a man of clear values. ”

Wolff was convinced that Mercedes could win a legal battle but there was a “difference between the rule of law and the rule of law”.

“It was incredibly hard for him and the team to withdraw the appeal because we did it wrong,” he added. “My soul and my heart weep with all my bones that this should be judged properly.

“The decisions made in the last four minutes of this race have robbed Lewis Hamilton of a well-deserved world championship. He won the start and never took the lead again.

“Stealing on the last lap of the race is unacceptable … my values, my sense of integrity, are not compatible with the decisions made on Sunday.”