F1, Lewis Hamilton takes it philosophically: ‘Let’s have fun’

“On the race pace we are strong.”

The seven-time world champion enjoys without too much pressure the weekend in Abu Dhabi, the scene for him of nefarious memories thinking back to last season’s World Cup mockery. This year, on the other hand, there are no particular ranking interests for the British champion, if we exclude the theoretical possibility of catching up with or even overtaking in the drivers’ standings his teammate George Russell, who is in fourth place boasting a 25-point lead before the last race at the Yas Marina track.

Satisfaction with the progress shown by his car is clearly evident in the statements made by Sir Lewis to Sky Sports UK after FP2, in which the Briton finished in fourth position but accused of a gap of more than six tenths from Max Verstappen.

“Overall it was a good day, I had a competitive car. In FP1 things went well, while in FP2 we didn’t have the right balance. Between sessions we made some changes, but they were not the right ones. I had a lot of oversteer, but then we realized our faults and will tweak them ahead of tomorrow,” he began.

Finally, a remark on Red Bull’s rivals and the outlook ahead of the race: “We knew that Red Bull would be in front again, but we are close. Overall I don’t think it is the ideal track for us, but on the race pace we are strong, so we want to have fun on Sunday,” he concluded.