Lewis Hamilton hopes Mercedes will be “in the mix” at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he admitted the start of his final weekend for the Silver Arrows was “very surreal”.
Hamilton finished fifth in Friday's second representative practice session under the Yas Marina floodlights, slightly behind Carlos Sainz in the leading Ferrari, although six tenths behind leader Lando Norris amid McLaren's commanding start in the event.
The seven-time champion races as a Mercedes driver for the final time after 12 years ahead of his winter stint at Ferrari as the 2024 season draws to a close and, having endured some difficult race weekends recently, he was happy to be able to resume his swan song. to a positive start.
“I felt better today. It wasn't such a bad day,” said an encouraged Hamilton.
“It's very surreal and I just tried to be as present as possible today and enjoy every moment from when I arrived to meeting the engineers and I really like to take moments and capture them as much as possible.
“Then I got ready and got in the car…and I really enjoyed the day. I really enjoyed driving the car today, working with the guys in the garage and the engineers.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from Friday's practice sessions at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“We have work to do. The McLaren is still fast, just like Ferrari. We are kind of in the mix, but we have to find time.”
“It's never that easy to tell, but I think our pace on the long runs didn't look too bad today, so that's, I would say, the big positive from today.” today: I was much closer to the McLarens on one lap, I think we have work to do.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Lewis Hamilton admitted he underestimated how difficult his final year at Mercedes would be and didn't manage his emotions very well, ahead of his final race for the team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix .
In a frank admission ThursdayThe Briton admitted he didn't always control his emotions in the best way during his final season at the Silver Arrows after announcing his shock switch to Ferrari before the campaign had even started.
When asked how he dealt with his emotions during his final weekend at Mercedes, Hamilton replied: “There's no catch, I try to keep my emotions under control as much as possible.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch a special two-part Sky Sports report this weekend celebrating seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton's incredible journey with Mercedes!
“I said [on Thursday]I haven't been very good this year, I've definitely had my ups and downs – it's a human emotion, it's normal – but I just really try to channel it into the car, into the team, team. I love the team so much and have wanted to do well for them for ages, but I'm trying one last time.
“I won't change too much in the car tonight and I hope [in qualifying] we will be there or thereabouts.
Russell: McLaren in a league of their own so far
Teammate George Russell certainly finished the year in more consistent form than Hamilton, but finished Friday three-tenths of a second behind his teammate in 13th place on the Practice 2 timesheet.
Russell – whose weekend started with a furious reaction to Max Verstappen's critical comments about him in Qatar – said he had carried out experimental adjustments to the W15 on Friday.
“Today we struggled a bit but it’s only Friday,” he said.
“We're trying a lot of things in preparation for next year. Obviously this is our last opportunity and we wanted to go, let's say, a little more radical with some tuning options to see if there was anything we can learn more.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
George Russell has hit back at bully Max Verstappen after the Qatar penalty fallout, saying someone needs to stand up to the Red Bull driver.
“So I hope [Saturday] it will be a slightly more normal day and I will go from there. »
While praising his teammate's efforts, Russell was more pessimistic about the team's position on Friday's timesheet compared to the top two teams.
“To be honest, Lewis did some really good laps and I think as a team we are still far from McLaren and Ferrari,” he said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Craig Slater has taken a closer look at how the Qatar penalty fallout intensified between George Russell and Max Verstappen after George called the Red Bull driver a 'bully'.
“McLaren seems to be in a league of its own at the moment.
“As I said, Lewis has done a great job but we are still four tenths behind McLaren, so that is more than we usually expect.
“So I expect that Ferrari will probably come back into the mix, and Max will probably come back into the mix, but hopefully we can make some improvements for tomorrow.”
Sky Sports F1 Abu Dhabi GP Live Schedule
Saturday December 7
8:10 a.m.: First F1 Academy race
10:15 a.m.: Practice 3 of the Abu Dhabi GP (session starts at 10:30 a.m.)
12:10 p.m.: F2 Sprint Race
1:15 p.m.: preparation for qualifying for the Abu Dhabi GP
2:00 p.m.: ABU DHABI GP QUALIFYING*
4 p.m.: F1 Academy: Second race
5 p.m.: Ted’s qualification log
Sunday December 8
7:10 a.m.: Third race of the F1 Academy
9:20 a.m.: F2 featured race
11:30 a.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: preparation for the Abu Dhabi GP
1 p.m.: The ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
3:00 p.m.: Checkered flag: reaction from the Abu Dhabi GP
4 p.m.: Ted’s notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Watch the final race of the 2024 Formula 1 season – the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday's race at 1pm. Get Sky Sports F1 or stream with NOW
#Lewis #Hamilton #Mercedes #farewell #39surreal39 #Briton #hopes #39in #mix39 #Abu #Dhabi #News
News Story ,
