By Greg Vega 
Saturday, December 4, 2021
Vor F1-Qwali in Saudi-Arabian
Hamilton and Verstappen share a concern
Lewis Hamilton set two fast times in practice, but he is still worried before qualifying in Saudi Arabia. The Formula 1 record world champion is worried about traffic on the expressway. World Cup captain Max Verstappen is also afraid of confusion – and there is another problem.
Louis Hamilton shocked by the new Formula 1 circuit in Saudi Arabia. “Fast, incredible speed” is the Jetta Corniche circuit after the first warm-up. The Mercedes driver set the fastest time in both training sessions on the 6.174km track yesterday Friday. “If you find the rhythm, driving is fantastic,” the World Cup runner-up said before the crucial qualifier on Saturday. (Live Ticker on 6pm / Sky and ntv.de; Tomorrow’s Sunday Race airs on RTL on Free TV from 5.15pm.).
Mercedes teammate Valteri Pottos found the Floodlight curriculum to be “pretty hardcore” with several full-throttle sections. But that’s what you want. That’s what we enjoy, it definitely gives you a little adrenaline rush. “
Prior to the final race of the season, Hamilton was eight points behind front-runner Max Verstappen, and there is even a fear of winning the Red Bull driver’s opening title. The prerequisite for this is that the Dutchman takes first or second place in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, while Hamilton misses at least the first five places. With 18 points more than Verstappen Hamilton, he ends Mercedes’ dominance after 14 consecutive World Championship titles.
Verstappen is looking for a solution to the temperature problem
For the opening chase, Hamilton sees problems in heavy traffic. “It’s definitely worse than many places we’ve been driving like in Monaco,” said the Englishman, who managed to avoid hose driver Nikita Masebin after a spin in the second training session. Shortly before the end of the session, Ferrari driver Charles Leklerk crashed into the wall at high speed, but he was not injured.
“Looking forward to qualifying, I think it will be very difficult due to traffic congestion,” Verstappen said, adding that he, like his rival Hamilton, needs a clear flow in the strong lap. The 24-year-old said he fought for himself. “During the second training session, we had problems raising the tires to room temperature, and we’ll see for sure,” explained Verstappen, who finished second and fourth in the units.
For merit he believes in the “perfect balance” of his car because changes from the first procedure to the second procedure did not benefit him. Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel after 16th and Mick Schumacher after 18th are expected to improve on the back field.