Hamilton breaks winter social media silence

Lewis Hamilton has broken his winter social media absence ahead of the new F1 season.

It is still unconfirmed whether the seven-time champion will return to the grid with Mercedes for the upcoming season, although his presence is extremely likely.

The concern over his participation was created by team principal Toto Wolff, who said he was unsure whether Hamilton would return after becoming "disillusioned" with the sport after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he controversially lost last year's title to Max Verstappen.

Just two weeks before the first pre-season test in Barcelona, Hamilton has taken to social media, simply posting a picture captioned "I've been gone. Now I'm back!"

I’ve been gone. Now I’m back! pic.twitter.com/Y8i0cgJXZq

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 5, 2022

F1 will begin testing on February 23, with a second test taking place in Bahrain before racing gets underway at the same venue on March 20.