Hamilton two tenths faster than Verstappen in final Abu Dhabi practice

29 comments on “Hamilton two tenths faster than Verstappen in final Abu Dhabi practice”

1. 

   Jesper (@jesperfey13)
   11th December 2021, 11:18

   Hamilton blocked Mazepin again. Possible 3rd reprimand and 10 place grid drop ?!
   1. 

      nickthegreek (@nickthegreek)
      11th December 2021, 11:20

      i dont think so. he was just existing the pits. leaving the track to the left was probably the safest thing to do
      1. 

         erikje
         11th December 2021, 11:35

         He was on the racing line. Bad info from bono, again!
         If stewarding was consistent this could have been a stupid action.
         1. 

            nickthegreek (@nickthegreek)
            11th December 2021, 11:37

            well the pit exit goes onto the racing line. could he have moved to the right and out of Mazepin’s way? maybe, but he only had 1-2 seconds to make the call
         2. 

            Swifty (@theswift)
            11th December 2021, 12:49

            If stewarding was consistent – VER would have been black flagged. You know it.
            1. 

               SaraJ (@sjzelli)
               11th December 2021, 14:22

               @theswift Do everyone a favor and stop
               Watching F1
      2. 

         Marcel
         11th December 2021, 11:43

         That is no excuse. He could either slow down and go on track behind Mazepin or speed up and let him past before turn 5. It happend way past the pit exit and he was still driving like grandpa. The 80kmh limit ends before the tunnel….
         1. 

            Roman
            11th December 2021, 11:49

            at least he didnt slam the brakes, did he?
   2. 

      ChrisVB
      11th December 2021, 11:24

      No, they will not interfere with the championship.
      Hamilton and Verstappen will be able to do almost anything to other drivers without repercussion. Only against each other they have to watch out.
      1. 

         Sihrtogg (@sihrtogg)
         11th December 2021, 11:34

         I wonder why earlier in the championship it’s not considered ‘interfering with the championship’ when points gained or lost in the first race count just as much as in the last race!
         1. 

            ChrisVB
            11th December 2021, 11:48

            That’s indeed not sensible or logical, but that’s what FIA does.
            And that’s why the regimes that do not care for human rights pay big bucks to have the last races in the season.
         2. 

            Mashiat (@mashiat)
            11th December 2021, 12:24

            @sihrtogg It’s all about perception. A penalty now is seen in a different light by fans and pundits than one earlier in the season. The stewards don’t want to walk out of this race being hurled with abuse by 50% of the fanbase.
   3. 

      Ben
      11th December 2021, 11:34

      Not a chance. Drivers block each other almost every weekend by accident im practice and it very rarely even gets looked at. Last week was different due to the blind corners and ultra high speeds.
2. 

   Mashiat (@mashiat)
   11th December 2021, 11:23

   To me, it seems almost certain that Mercedes will make Bottas start on the softs (rightly so) to try and jump Verstappen at the start. But the big question is, will Max do the same to Hamilton? Red Bull did their long runs on softs, they did their practice starts on softs from the dirty side of the grid, perhaps they expect to qualify 2nd and try to get track position like that. Or maybe it’s just mind games, but surely this would hinder them more than helping them if they sacrificed long-running on the mediums.
   1. 

      Boudi
      11th December 2021, 11:25

      Interestingly too, did Mercedes have any long runs today? Their long runs yesterday were scary slow. I know the engines were turned down but they were losing in all corners to RB as well
      1. 

         lexusreliability?
         11th December 2021, 12:22

         Scary slow? MUst have been watching different sessions. Max was on the softs and Hamilton was on the mediums. Also you don’t know what fuel loads and engine maps they were running.
   2. 

      Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
      11th December 2021, 12:03

      @mashiat
      I don’t think they will, because if I’m not entirely mistaken, both Mercedes drivers have just 3 sets of softs left for qualifying and the race. Considering they need two fresh sets for Q3, Bottas would have to use mediums in Q1. I don’t think that’s worth the risk for Mercedes.
      But I think RB will almost certainly put Pérez on softs and possibly Verstappen as well, because they have saved an additional set of the softs, compared to Mercedes.
      Verstappen’s long run on the softs yesterday was acutally pretty decent, lapping consistenty in the 1:28s, so I guess they feel quite comfortable on that tyre.
      1. 

         Mashiat (@mashiat)
         11th December 2021, 12:25

         @srga91 Will they not get an extra set of softs for Q3? Unless you’ve considered that in your calculations.
3. 

   ChrisVB
   11th December 2021, 11:50

   This is still with Hamilton’s old engine?
   What will the difference be with the new engine from Brazil?
   1. 

      John Beamer
      11th December 2021, 11:58

      They will change the engine overnight … so this is the race engine. They won’t change it 2h before qualy in case something goes wrong
   2. 

      Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
      11th December 2021, 12:05

      This is still with Hamilton’s old engine?

      I don’t think so because with more or less 2 hours left to the most important qualifying session in Hamilton’s life, they won’t risk anything by fitting a new engine. More likely it’s Brazil engine but was detuned. Mercedes normally turn up their PU in Q2.
4. 

   Illusive (@illusive)
   11th December 2021, 11:50

   It looks like its over for Max and Redbull. The Mercedes have serious pace. It going to be a cake walk for Lewis.

   I am happy for Max though, even though he wont win the championship, he showed the hype around him is real.
5. 

   Only Facts!
   11th December 2021, 12:01

   It’s looking ugly for RedBull. I understand they are 100% focused on race setup, but at this point they should be slightly ahead Mercedes before qualifying. Wolff will turn their engines up to “normal” and slice 0.4 sec.
   This is sounding more like Prost-Senna1989 or MSC-Hill 1994
   (crash at the end of the race) then Senna-Prost 1990 (crash at the start of the race) but neither of them will let the other by without a crash.
   Either way, this championship is now Hamilton’s to loose. Mercedes already have their constructors title bagged.
   1. 

      SaraJ (@sjzelli)
      11th December 2021, 14:24

      “Only facts” lol. Who’s on pole?
      1. 

         Esploratore (@esploratore1)
         11th December 2021, 17:49

         I was surprised by that too, I thought as late as when q3 started that mercedes had the upper hand in quali, but in any case we still have to see the start, reliability and race pace, especially with red bulls starting on soft.
6. 

   Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
   11th December 2021, 12:14

   Mercedes are looking very strong for qualifying. They usually gain more between FP3 and qualifying than the RB, so seeing them already on top should be a warning for RB.
   It seems like RB are more focused on their race setup anyway, unlike last week. I expect them to be stronger in the race than in qualifying.
   It also seems as they will start on softs, while Mercedes are more likely to start on mediums (at least Hamilton should). They might be planning on using the extra grip of the softs to get ahead of the Mercedes within the first three laps and control the race from the front.
7. 

   DaveW (@dmw)
   11th December 2021, 12:41

   The real question is who is responsible for “Decider in the Desert”? That’s bad.
8. 

   kpcart
   11th December 2021, 13:09

   I wonder if a 7 times world champion or a guy seeking his first world championship will make a mistake in qualifying? Which is more likely to?
   1. 

      Markos
      11th December 2021, 15:19

      I guess we know by now ;-)

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