Lewis Hamilton admitted he spent time this winter considering his future as Mercedes launched their new car for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Hamilton lost out on an eighth world title in controversial circumstances at last year’s final race in Abu Dhabi.
“I never said I was going to stop. But it was a difficult time for me and I really needed to step back,” he said.
“Eventually I got to a point where I decided I was going to be attacking again coming into another season.”
Hamilton was leading in Abu Dhabi and on course for a record eighth world title when race director Michael Masi failed to operate the rules correctly during a late safety-car period.
That resulted in Hamilton being passed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on one final lap of racing after a restart.
The FIA has conducted an inquiry into what happened and on Thursday announced a series of changes to address it – including removing Masi as race director.
Hamilton said he had retreated to the comfort of his family as he sought to process what had happened.
“It was a time where I really needed to step back, focus on being present,” he said. “I had my family all around me creating great moments.”
Team principal Toto Wolff told BBC Radio 5 Live that Abu Dhabi was “in the past” but admitted: “It’s not something we will ever in a way recover from.”
He denied that Masi’s removal was a condition for Hamilton’s return and said he was never worried the 37-year-old would quit.
“I have known Lewis for such a long time and I wasn’t (worried),” he said. “But obviously this has had such an impact on him when everything about, it was about fairness and justice and when that happens to you it is quite difficult to, I understand, to cope with that.”
Wolff added at the car launch that the FIA had taken “the right steps” to address the failures in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton is joined at Mercedes this year by fellow Briton George Russell, one of the brightest rising stars of the new generation of drivers.
“It’s surreal,” said Russell, who spent the first three years of his career at Williams.
“We’ve all seen the photo of me and Lewis when I was 10 years old. We have both changed quite a lot since then. It’s incredible to see.
“I was a young kid aspiring to reach F1 and he was world champion at the time, he was a super-hero to me. You see these incredible people and you don’t think they’re human.
“Having the opportunity to race alongside Lewis is a real privilege for me. I have such a great opportunity to see how the best done it.”
Wolff said he expected a tough battle between Hamilton and Russell but said he expected it would be conducted in good spirit.
“You want to have the two best possible drivers,” he said. “But we’ve seen that in the past we’ve handled it. The two guys have great personalities and I have no doubt that sometimes it will not be easy but that’s the name of the game.”
What about the car?
Like all 2022 cars, the new Mercedes W13 has been designed to comply with revolutionary new regulations aimed at making the racing closer and more competitive.
The car features very tightly packed bodywork, on which significant effort has clearly been made on securing the best possible airflow.
Mercedes have reverted to their traditional silver after two years of a black livery in support of diversity.
The new livery blends some black elements with the predominant silver, which the team said reflected its “clear mission to become a more diverse and inclusive team”, including a commitment that at least 25% of all new recruits until 2025 will be from under-represented groups.
That figure was 38% in 2021, Mercedes said.
“The hopes are we will have a competitive car,” Wolff said. “We don’t know whether we are even in the hunt for another title. What I know is that even if circumstances are difficult, through grit dig ourselves out of a disadvantaged situation.”
Technical director Mike Elliott said: “Getting to the desired aero shapes has meant a complete internal repackaging, right down to the electrical layout and where we fit things like the ECU.
“Hopefully, you will also see that we have taken another step with how tightly packaged the sidepods and engine cover are. To get to this is not just a shrink-wrapping exercise but requires a huge amount of redesign and simulation to make it work.”
There is also an upgraded engine for the start of a four-year engine freeze in F1.
Engine boss Hywel Thomas described it as “a very broad upgrade_ across the different elements of the engine.
Hamilton said: “I haven’t really set any goals initially. Naturally everyone is working towards the ultimate goal of winning the championship and the target off doing something we have never done before. We’ve done eight, now it’s time to move on to the next one.”
Both drivers are due to test the car for the first time in a so-called shakedown at Silverstone on Friday, with Russell trying it first before Hamilton.