The numbers could add up to something special for Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi this weekend as the triple Formula One champion chases his 44th win on the 44th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates in auto 44.
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The last time Lewis Hamilton was crowned champion, he had to wait until the last race of the season, which was the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Mercedes have some work to do ahead of Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton admitting the “race pace doesn’t feel very good”.
Rosberg is on his fourth engine of the year, and said he is at a disadvantage compared to Hamilton, who has a fresher power unit in his Mercedes W06.
Rosberg said the troubles actually date back to Monza, where he also ran into engine issues.
Hitting the front as the twilight session reached darkness, Rosberg was the only driver to break the 1min 42secs marker with a 1min 41.983secs lap, while both Mercedes’ were both more than half a second clear of the opposition. “Today is not the real picture”.
“It is very hard to overtake here and like the majority of the tracks it is better to be up in pole, but it doesn’t mean it is impossible to win [from second]”. Rosberg topped the qualifying simulations again in FP2 but Hamilton is confident he can turn the tables with some set-up changes ahead of Saturday evening. “But this time around there’s no pressure, so I’ll be well-rested and aiming to go out on a high”, he told Sky Sports.
Kvyat ended the day sixth ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen – who was third-fastest in the afternoon – and the second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who finished fourth in second practice after a seventh in the first, was pleased with the day’s running.
The championships are settled, to the extent that the top three in the drivers’ title race cannot change and nor can the top five in the constructors’ table.
“I don’t know, I would have to really think about that but there are definitely things they do a lot better than us…”
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“I’ve got a special helmet with the logo 44, with the special colours, and on my gloves, Hamilton said in a video posted on Twitter”.
