Happy Birthday Lewis Hamilton, 7-time F1 Champ Turns 37

7-time F1 world champion and statistically, the most successful driver in the history of F1, Lewis Hamilton, has turned 37 years old. The Briton who became the first one to win 100 F1 Grand Prix's in 2021 was also knighted by Prince Charles a month back and by virtue became the first active F1 driver to be knighted - joining the likes of Jack Brabham, Sterling Moss, and Jackie Stewart.

Hamilton is contracted for another two years with the Mercedes F1 team - with his contract running out till the end of the 2023 season. However, the heartbreaking events of the last race of 2021 season where Hamilton lost out on an opportunity to win a record-breaking 8th world title were dashed by Max Verstappen, which have put a shade over the expected return of the 7-time world champion.

In a contentious decision, 5 laps before the end of the season finale in December, which was being masterfully led by Hamilton, race director, Michael Masi, introduced a safety car after a crash by Nicholas Latifi. He strangely initially said that no lapped cars would be allowed to unlap themselves, but then reversed his decision partially allowing the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves while immediately calling in the safety car for the last lap of the race.

Verstappen had pitted for fresh soft tyres while Hamilton expected the race to finish behind the safety car and hence hadn't pitted. When reading resumed for the single lap, Verstappen had the jump on Hamilton. The ensuing result triggered a protest by Mercedes which was eventually taken back, however, both Hamilton and Toto Wolff revealed that they were disillusioned. Mercedes F1 chief Wolff went on to say that Hamilton may not return to F1 and honor his contractually bound two years after the heartbreak.

Hamilton became the first active F1 driver to be knighted

FIA's new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed that Hamilton hasn't responded to his messages. Hamilton even missed the FIA gala for the world championship winners which was mandatory for him as he came second in the championship. Sulayem has hinted that Hamilton could face sanctions for the same - many believe it could be a 10 place grid penalty in the first race of the season.

While all this has been happening, Hamilton has even unfollowed everyone on social media. His brother Nicholas has revealed that the world champion has been taking a break from social media. As of now, there is radio silence from the 37-year-old, with the new F1 cars to be unveiled in just about a month.

In 2022, Hamilton will also face a stiffer challenge internally as he will be paired with George Russell who has been tipped to be a future world champion. While he will become the second eldest driver on the grid in 2022 after his first teammate Fernando Alonso, he still remains one of the best on the grid.

In 2021, he perhaps had his greatest race win at Brazil where he stormed by from P10 to win the race. In fact, his late charge in the 2021 season where he almost won the world title after a gap of more than 20 points with three consecutive race wins in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia reminded us why he is considered by many the greatest F1 driver of all time. In 2020, he arguably had his most dominant season where he trounced the opposition in tandem with the dominating Mercedes W11.