It came at a time where nobody expected it, and shortly after dropping the bombshell, Hamilton wisely decided to travel to one of his favourite parts of the world as he prepares himself for the upcoming F1 season – his last with Mercedes.
The nature of the story means that it has received a lot of media attention and coverage, but Hamilton being asbent for most of it shows that he was prepared for a reaction of this magnitude.
When he arrives in Bahrain for pre-season testing on 21 February, he will be expecting to receive a barrage of questions about his future and his final year with Mercedes.
In a post which received over 1.8 million likes on Instagram, Hamilton can be seen soaking up the sun’s rays in Brazil.