Lewis Hamilton told to 'get even' with Max Verstappen after contentious 2021 ending

Hamilton lost the 2021 F1 world title to Verstappen under controversial circumstances

Lewis Hamilton has been tipped to return to the grid in 2022 "like a force of nature" by former Formula 1 racer Martin Brundle. The Sky Sports pundit has urged the Mercedes driver not to be angry but to "get even" with Max Verstappen after the controversial ending to last season.

In the eyes of his fans, Hamilton was "robbed" of a record-breaking eighth world title on the final lap by Verstappen. A late safety car, and then FIA race director Michael Masi's decision to restart the race with a lap to go, gave the Red Bull Racing driver the opportunity to close up on the final lap and overtake the Briton, who had comfortably led the Abu Dhabi GP until then.

Brundle admits that mistakes were made at the season finale, but he is certain Mercedes and Hamilton have moved on from the incident and are fully focused on the new campaign. Masi has been removed from his role like Mercedes wanted, and Hamilton confirmed that he is raring to go and land that unprecedented eighth F1 world title.

"It's don't get angry - get even!" Brundle said, as quoted by the Daily Mail. "I can understand why he went on the missing list for a while on social media but I do think he's back, he's 37 years old but from what I saw of his driving last year, he was driving as well as I've ever seen him."

Max Verstappen won an epic season-long battle with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP

"Clearly fitness is not an issue, the drivers don't get so many big shunts these days with the knocks on the head. He is physically in great shape and I think he'll be a force of nature when he comes back."

Hamilton's disappearance from public view in the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi GP raised questions about his future in the sport. Mercedes used it as a narrative to put pressure on the FIA, but Brundle revealed that he, even for a moment, did not consider Hamilton retiring from the sport at this stage of his career.

"I didn't buy into that at all.. what else is he going to do? Why would he walk away from Mercedes? It's what he loves doing, it's what he's best at, he's a massive contender for greatest of all time... Lewis was just regrouping," he added.

Hamilton and Verstappen will renew their rivalry when the 2022 Formula 1 season gets underway this weekend in Bahrain. The first free practice session of 2022 is scheduled on Friday, with qualifying on Saturday and the main event on Sunday.