In the wake of the Lie-gate controversy, at 2009 Australian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has admitted he considered quitting Formula One, as he felt shamed from his behavior as a professional racing driver.
The 2008 world champion was found guilty of misleading race stewards at the 2009, and although McLaren escaped with just a three-race suspended ban, Hamilton revealed the shame was almost too much to bear.
"There was a lot to take on board after what had gone on. I care about how people perceive me. It was a feeling of 'shoot, maybe I shouldn't be in the sport' rather than not in my team. This is my dream team and I am fortunate to have been here from the beginning. I never had a desire to drive for anyone else. So it was not a desire to leave the team, just to stop racing. For a split second it was 'this is too much to take. How do I recover from this?'"
After a poor start to the season that saw him pick up just nine points from the first nine races, Hamilton and McLaren were finally able to get on the podium in Hungary, and two race wins and three podium finishes saw him finish the season fifth.
