Lewis Hamilton broke his social media silence on Saturday and generated a huge response from fans in the process.
Hamilton went silent after missing out on the 2021 F1 title to Max Verstappen in controversial circumstances at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but finally emerged 55 days later with a short message for his followers.
"I've been gone. Now I'm back!" Hamilton posted, along with a photo of himself smiling at the Grand Canyon.
Hamilton's return sparks a huge reaction from fans
On Instagram, the message soon surpassed one million likes, while on Twitter, it drew several hundred thousand likes, with the numbers steadily continuing to rise.
In addition, the phrase 'He is back' became a Twitter trend, with more than 50 thousand related tweets. The hashtags #IStandWithLewisHamilton and #TeamLH44 were also pushed by his fans throughout the night.
Hamilton has made no further comments about his plans for 2022, though is contracted with Mercedes through 2023, having signed a fresh deal last summer.
Also interesting:
F1 Podcast: Why F1 2022 could be the most exciting season ever
With huge changes being made to the F1 rule book for 2022, our journalists Dieter Rencken, Mike Seymour and Thomas Maher look ahead to the new season.
Max
Verstappen
Sergio
Pérez
Fernando
Alonso
Lewis
Hamilton
Red Bull
Mercedes
Ferrari
Alpine
Alfa Romeo
