F1: Lewis Hamilton makes fans nervous with 'retirement hint'

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton made his fans excited and nervous at the same time when he quietly opened a new Instagram account last week. He did not make it immediately clear what the account was for, leading to a number of speculations including a possible retirement from racing in the near future.

The last F1 star who opened a new Instagram account was Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel. The four-time world champion's fans were delighted by his entry to social media, especially because of how private he has always been. Unfortunately, his first post was a video announcing his retirement from F1 at the end of the current season.

Hamilton has already been active for a number of years on his main Instagram account, which is why fans started to worry if he will "do a Vettel" when he opened a new account with the handle @plus44world. At that time, it was a mysterious blank account that was set in private.

Some speculated that the account may be for a charitable initiative, but it has now been confirmed that Plus 44 World is going to be centered around a shop that sells the famous racer's merchandise.

Anyone who knows anything about Hamilton won't be surprised to learn that the items will be designed by the Mercedes driver himself. He has dabbled in a world of fashion for many years, often spending free time at fashion shows and collaborating with prominent as well as up-and-coming designers.

While at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, he showed off one of the pieces from the collection. He shared a photo of himself in the Mercedes garage while wearing a white long-sleeved shirt printed with the brand's logo.

"Eye of the storm," he said, alongside the photo. Apart from this piece, a quick look at the Instagram account for the brand, which has since been made public, shows a link to the official webstore. For now, only short and long-sleeved shirts plus a fluorescent yellow poncho are up for grabs

For those unfamiliar, the number 44 was chosen for obvious reasons. The Briton has been racing with that number on his car since his carting days. Since he was eight years old, he had an affiliation with the said number. In 2014, when F1 introduced the regulation of allowing each driver to choose their permanent racing number, he again chose 44. In fact, he raced with it instead of the customary number one on his car even while he was reigning world champion for many years.

Fans are relieved to find out that the new account was for a merchandise brand, and not to announce his retirement. However, that may still happen in the near future as Hamilton slowly sets up ventures and investments that will keep him busy beyond his racing days.