Hamilton appreciates “the changes made” to the Yas Marina route

And if the big winners from the changes to the Abu Dhabi route were none other than Mercedes et Lewis Hamilton ? Faster, the lap at Yas Marina seems to suit the W12 E Performance much better now, which delighted in it during the second free practice session of the day, with Hamilton well ahead of the rest of the pack – more than three tenths ahead of his first pursuer.

" VSmakes it much more pleasant and faster”

" It's a good day, confesses Lewis Hamilton just after FP2. I really like the changes that have been made to the layout, it makes it much more pleasant, and much faster. We still have some uncertainties regarding our race pace, but I am sure that it will still be very close in qualifying, as was the case in the last races. »

Compared to previous editions, the promoters of the Abu Dhabi circuit have made serious changes to the layout, making it much faster than usual – between 10 and 15 seconds per lap. In fact, work was carried out in three very specific areas: the hairpin before turn 5 was removed, the Marina Sud at turn 9 has completely evolved with the disappearance of several medium speed curves or even at level of the Yas Marina Hotel section, from turn 13.

Modifications that would seem to suit the Mercedes, less agile than the Red Bull in winding sections. In any case, this is a trend observed this afternoon, and which still needs to be confirmed during tomorrow's qualifying session.

Mercedes are setting the pace 🚀

Lewis Hamilton currently leads the way, Max Verstappen is in P4#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/u7AY1597w5

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 10, 2021

If the changes made to the route have made it much faster than in previous editions, the problem of following a car always remains the same. In any case, this is what the Mercedes driver was able to observe during his long stint in FP2, with a car loaded with gasoline.

“I tried to follow a single-seater, that of [Sergio] Pérez it seems to me, during my long relay, explains Lewis Hamilton. It's really not easy. I imagine it will change somewhat compared to previous editions, but it's still not something easy. »

To remedy this, there remains one solution. It's called pole position. See you tomorrow at 14 p.m. to find out the depository.