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Lewis Hamilton claims Mercedes couldn't keep up with the raw pace of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After losing pole position to the Dutchman by nearly 0.4 seconds, the Briton congratulated him on his blazing lap in Q3.
Hamilton was interviewed by former F1 driver David Coulthard after the qualifying session. He said:
"Firstly, Max did a great lap today and we just couldn't compete with that. But it was looking really strong through practice. We couldn't answer to that lap. That was a fantastic lap by him."
Lewis Hamilton then spoke about the differences in tire strategy between Mercedes and Red Bull. Max Verstappen had developed a flat spot on his medium compound tire in Q2 and subsequently set his fastest time of the session on the soft tire.
FIA rules state that the driver must start on the same tire that was used to set the fastest time in Q2. So Verstappen will start on the soft tire tomorrow while the seven-time champion will be shod with the mediums. Not sounding too perturbed about the tires he'll start the race on, Hamilton said:
"We're in a good position I'd like to think with our tires for tomorrow. I hope that we can have a good race."
Lewis Hamilton needs to avoid DNF in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Despite being tied on points with his title rival, Max Verstappen holds a slight advantage heading into tomorrow's race as he has more wins than Hamilton. If both men fail to finish, Verstappen will automatically be crowned world champion, as per FIA rules.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have a history of collisions and incidents, with last weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix being the most recent example. Both drivers have claimed they wouldn't want the world championship to be decided by incidents, and are hoping for a clean race.
Max Verstappen has said he will congratulate Lewis Hamilton if he wins the title tomorrow, but only if he does so under fair circumstances.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is set to be historic regardless of who you support. An entire season's worth of excitement and drama comes down to a nail-biting finish tomorrow at the Yas Marina Circuit.
