New lap, new opportunities, new circuit. The second-to-last GP of the season will be held in Saudi Arabia this weekend. On the circuit where it still smells like fresh asphalt, Verstappen can decide the world championship. But he will need a good portion of luck for that, because only if Hamilton has a particularly bad weekend, Max can call himself world champion after this weekend.
That makes it extra difficult, because Hamilton is working on a series of races in which he left Verstappen no chance in second place. This weekend the seven-time champion will be in equally good shape and he has the equipment to make it very difficult for Max again. In Brazil, Lewis got a new engine screwed into the back of his Mercedes, which was unprecedentedly fast. Due to the high top speed, Hamilton has had a big advantage on the straight. In Qatar, the engine was given a week of rest, but Toto Wolff indicated that the ‘rocket engine’ will be pulled out again this weekend.
An advantage for Verstappen is that the circuit in Saudi Arabia is a street circuit. At every street circuit raced this year, the Red Bull has been dominant. It remains to be seen whether results achieved in the past offer guarantees for the future. Normally street circuits are quite slow, but on this track the drivers take most of the corners at over 200 kilometers per hour.
The drivers and teams are going into this weekend with a lot of unknown variables. This weekend we can only really see who has the advantage in this crucial weekend.
Dates and times of the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP
Friday December 3, 2021
1st free practice: 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
2nd free practice: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Saturday, December 4, 2021
3rd free practice: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Qualification: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Sunday 5 December 2021
Race: 6:30 pm
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