After weeks of speculation, and fears he could be about to announce his F1 retirement, the cat appears to be out of the bag for Lewis Hamilton’s much-debated ‘08.08’ announcement.

And no, he’s not quitting the sport.

The smoke led us to…

Hamilton caused a stir last month when he posted a cryptic message on Instagram, teasing an announcement that would be made on August 8.

He posted a short clip that showed a matchbox on a table in a dimly lit room, emblazoned with ‘08.08’, before the clip moved onto a collage of black-and-white photographs of volcanoes and architecture.

In the accompanying caption, Hamilton wrote: “We’ve struck the match. Now follow the smoke.”

Fans on social media speculated as to what the announcement could be, many fearing it was his retirement given the Briton’

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