Lewis Hamilton: “Be as far ahead as possible”

Beaten on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi in 2015 by Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton knows that such a result this Sunday would destroy his last hopes of a world title. If victory is almost obligatory for the Briton Mercedes, he will also have to count on a misstep from his teammate, who must not do better than 4th in this scenario for Hamilton to be crowned again.

While Nico Rosberg indicated during the press conference that he “would do whatever it takes to try to win the race, within the limits of what is acceptable. », outside help would be welcome for the former pilot McLaren to widen the gap on his rival. But Hamilton prefers to concentrate on his race, and admitted at a press conference to having already opted for a simple tactic.

“Nico has been on pole the last two years here,” explains Hamilton. It was very fast. Abu Dhabi has been a pretty good circuit for me in general, but the last two years I haven't performed well.

In terms of tactics, for Sunday I want to be as far away as possible. Being 18 or 30 seconds ahead is a real blow to your opponent. That's a much better accomplishment than slowing down your teammate. Moreover, in practice, this is not a reasonable thing to do. There are two DRS zones, it would not be very easy or wise to do so. »

The Briton believed before going to Abu Dhabi that he would face the impossible this weekend to retain his crown, but can remember the 2014 edition, where Nico Rosberg encountered mechanical problems.