Lewis Hamilton recently celebrated his 37th birthday, with the eyes of the world upon him.

The British driver has won seven World Championships, the same as German legend Michael Schumacher, but it should be eight. After leading rival Max Verstappen for much of the race, he was cruelly robbed of his record-breaking eighth title in Abu Dhabi. Controversy reined on the last lap as a safety car allowed Verstappen to draw up behind Hamilton on new tires and create a single lap shoot-out for the title.

As CNN reports, a late call by race director Michael Masi allowed lapped cars between the two to unlap themselves. The decision effectively handed the race, and world title, to Verstappen. Hamilton was gracious in defeat, but rumours have been circulating around an imminent retirement ever since. If he were to retire, it would damage the reputation of F1 irrevocably, according to Lord Peter Hain, Vice-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Formula 1.

“He has got a contract for another two years,” Hain said recently. “I think all of his fans, including me, will hope and expect he comes back to make sure he puts right the wrong that was done to him. I’m hoping he will, by his sheer ability, overcome this. He has overcome racism, prejudice. He’s come from a very humble background with an extraordinary father. He’s the poor black kid who made it to the top. Most of the other drivers come from very comfortable backgrounds. That’s no criticism of them. I think he will be back. Formula 1 will be massively, massively damaged if he doesn’t.”

Hain isn’t the only one to worry about Hamilton’s future. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff hinted that the star in the Formula 1 crown might decide to call it a day. “I would very much hope Lewis continues racing because he is the greatest driver of all time,” he is reported by World Sports Tale as saying. “As a racer his heart will say I need to continue, because he’s at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday. He is a man with clear values.”

Will he remain in the cockpit next season? The racing world expects Hamilton to stay on; Ladbrokes currently has him as the favorite for the 2022 season despite an uncertain future. After everything that has happened, a win next year would be a crowning achievement for a driver widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. After all, some of Schumacher’s wins were tainted by controversy, whereas Hamilton is the victim of such events, not the perpetrator.

Schumacher retired at the age of 43, but he finished 13th in the driver’s championship in his final year, and that’s not something Hamilton is likely to wish to do. The former driver turned pundit Martin Brundle believes that Hamilton will likely retire early and at the top of his game than allow his standards to slip. “My gut feeling is he’ll stop a year early rather than a year late,” he said at the start of last season. “He’s not going to hang on until the bitter end for a few more dollars, or just to be a Formula 1 driver, and nor will he need to.”

The timing of Lewis Hamilton’s retirement is crucial for the sport. The controversy of Abu Dhabi will not go away, and if he doesn’t return to fight another day, it will be seen as a hammer blow for Formula 1. It will ask questions over integrity and fairness that one of its most famous drivers will not be around to answer.