Lewis Hamilton expects close battle with Red Bull at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Max Verstappen quickest at FP2
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Updated 18/11/2022 at 17:43 GMT
Lewis Hamilton was the quickest in the first practice session on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but his longtime rival Max Verstappen was the fastest in the second session. The Mercedes driver said that he expected a close race on Sunday in the final race of the campaign, with qualifying still to come after Saturday's third practice session.
'Car in a good window' - Verstappen after topping practice in Abu Dhabi
Lewis Hamilton believes that Mercedes can challenge Red Bull this weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen were neck-and-neck in last season’s finale at the same track, with the younger man emerging as world champion in controversial circumstances.
This year the two have been far apart, with Hamilton yet to secure a win in 2022 and Verstappen recording the most wins in a single Formula One season, albeit in the season with the most races in a calendar. A win for Hamilton would break another record set by Michael Schumacher, for the highest number of consecutive seasons with a Grand Prix victory.
However, at Sao Paulo, Mercedes recorded a one-two with Hamilton’s teammate George Russell winning, and Russell was second quickest in the second practice session after the Mercedes pair were fastest in the first session on Friday.
Verstappen was quickest in FP2 for the fourth time this season and it looks like the 2023 season will see a renewal of hostilities, with a phoney war due on Saturday, with the third practice session and qualifying to come, ahead of Sunday’s race proper.
"Practice one felt pretty good, Practice two felt quite a bit off. (We) made some changes between and they just weren't the right ones," Hamilton said to Sky Sports when he compared the two run-outs on Friday.
He explained that the second session was less easy for him, saying: "(It was a) bit of a struggle in FP2 with a lot of oversteer, that was mostly my limitation.
"We'll make some changes overnight but otherwise, we're relatively competitive, we're right there."
He added that he thinks there will be a tighter competition between the German and Austrian sides this weekend: "I think it looks a little bit closer (than in Brazil).
"I think the Red Bulls look a little bit quicker here, which is expected. We didn't expect this to be our strongest race.
"But we'll work hard overnight and we're generally right there, so hopefully we can put on a good fight."
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