Lewis Hamilton is calm after Friday practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last act of the 2021 Formula 1 season.
Called to the final showdown against the staunch enemy Max Verstappen, the reigning Champion strikes a blow at the end of the second session, signing the best time ever in 1’23 “691, trimming over 0” 6 to his rival.
Mercedes looked fit and so did its standard bearer, who looks confident based on how the weekend started.
“It went quite well, all in all the day was positive – says Hamilton – We are very close to our rivals, we focused on doing our job well”.
“We still have a question mark in terms of pace, but I think it will be a good battle, as happened in the last few races.”
In the two hours available on the track, Lewis immediately received positive feedback from his W12, which however is not yet quite as perfect as he would like.
“The car did well right away at the start of Free Practice 1, then it got worse. For the second session we made some changes that worked, so now we have to analyze all the data well and try to understand how to improve, which is always the case. ‘target”.
Another topic of today’s day was the first outing on the Yas Marina track in a revised version to encourage battles.
The Arab circuit is not disappointed by the 7-time World Champion, even if the problem of the type of single-seater remains, which currently make the fights very complicated, especially for those who follow.
“I liked the changes made to the track, which is now more enjoyable and smoother.”
“I tried to follow someone during the race simulations, I thought it was Perez; it wasn’t easy, even if there are now more opportunities to overtake.”
“But if two cars have a similar wheelbase, it will still be complicated.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
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