The Dutchman showed to arrive in top form at the final event of the year, but the question is whether he will give up winning to let his team-mate take advantage
The Abu Dhabi circuit is by no means the circuit that offers the most spectacle. With the exception of the 2021 Heart Attack Final, the Yas Marina is a track as boring as others born from the Tilke pen, which doesn’t help seeing a show or any other grill at all. It will therefore come as no surprise to anyone that the last Friday of the 2022 Formula 1 season ends with a Red Bull, a Mercedes and a Ferrari as the fastest, nor that those names are those of Max Verstappen, George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
The world champion, last-race winner and staunch second-place contender showed that, each with their respective arguments, they have a serious shot at becoming the weekend’s dominators. Due to the peculiarity of this circuit and this Grand Prix, the first practice sessions this Friday were completely useless from a competitive point of view. The high temperature and sun on the track in the morning turns into cold and electric lights at night, promoting a radically different behavior of the single-seaters. For that reason, the first session of the day became something of a preview of the testing of the young drivers, with eight testers participating in the grid-sharing test with twelve starters. All teams except Mercedes and AlphaTauri gave the chance to their homegrown testers, who needed opportunities to prove their mettle before the responsibility of making the jump falls on them.
Apart from that anecdote, little or nothing could be scratched from the last day of Formula 1 free practice. In the only useful session the 20 drivers had, there were no major surprises and many doubts. The main one is whether Sergio Pérez is really further behind than Charles Leclerc or is one of those who will grow from now until Sunday. In the match they shared, the Monegasque was clearly superior to the Mexican, to whom he endorsed three-tenths of a second and felt they could have been more than one round.
Verstappen’s alleged help to his partner can only happen if both are on track together, and apparently this Friday won’t be easy for it to happen. There are more than seven tenths that the Dutchman took from a Pérez who, hurt with pride, has not yet forgotten what happened in Brazil. He and Leclerc are tied on 290 points and the accounts for number two are very simple: whoever finishes at the front wins.
This Friday was also the opportunity to say goodbye to Sebastian Vettel. His father, Norbert, left a surprise for him in Fernando Alonso’s future garage when he brought him a jumpsuit from when he was a kid that hung next to a picture of the legendary Michael Schumacher, his idol since he was born. was small. Also the tributes from the ‘kaiser’s son, Mick, who is leaving F1 (at least for now) this weekend, and Alonso himself. Both wore a thank you to the legendary four-time German champion on their helmets.
For the rest little or nothing to criticize from a GP that has less than 10% of the tension that the last visit of the big girco had to this circuit. In this environment, the men of Mercedes are the big candidates to fish for another victory, especially a Lewis Hamilton who is one Sunday away from an unexpectedly negative record: his first season without a win. It’s not that it’s relevant, but it’s significant, as his team-mate won in Brazil and prevented the German squad from leaving empty in this 2022 complex for them.
With Carlos Sainz in the top zone but not yet shining, Fernando Alonso had one more blue last Friday before switching to green. This is also his retirement from Alpine and it is clear that Alonso can still score points in the team’s battle with McLaren. Without going into details, the Asturian’s big challenge is to finish ahead of his team-mate Esteban Ocon, who, if he was already an enemy as a team-mate, will be even more so once they are no longer in the same box. They have a five-point difference and the Spaniard is clear about his goal.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
