Abu Dhabi sees final act and Lewis is part of show
THE 17th and final round of the condensed 2020 F1 season is upon us in Abu Dhabi, and Lewis Hamilton has been given the all-clear to race.
The world champion was forced to sit out the Sakhir GP having tested positive for Covid-19 11 days ago.
Having since returned a number of negative tests, the Briton flew to Abu Dhabi yesterday and will retake his race seat at Mercedes.
It is a blow for George Russell, who had hoped to have another opportunity in the championship-winning Mercedes, having been cruelly denied victory last weekend. As for Valtteri Bottas, he may be relieved normal order has been restored having been humiliatingly outraced by Russell in his one-off race with the team.
The Finn, who last won seven races ago in Russia, says he realises he needs to raise his game having been overshadowed at the Sakhir GP by a far less experienced team-mate.
Bottas said: ‘It’s true that I feel I’ve not really been performing at my best in the last races. Since Imola, it’s been a really bad run of luck. All that I can say is, if you look at the last four races, I can do much better.’
He says he’s tried to avoid reading criticism, and that a win this weekend would help restore his confidence over the winter: ‘The best thing to do is not look at anything, so after Sunday I haven’t looked at a single headline or news article or social media.
‘It would be a much nicer feeling to go into the break with a good result, a race win under your belt. That is the only target this weekend.’ Toto Wolff has moved to play down expectations that in Russell Mercedes have another potential British world champion on their books, or that in fact anyone half decent can win in a Merc.
‘Lewis Hamilton wins so much because he’s the best driver in the best car at the moment. [But] it’s never a driver that makes all the difference and it’s never the car that makes all the difference. It’s a combination of the two. Lewis is still the benchmark.
‘By saying that we don’t expect anything better than top five or four [from George], I wanted to take the pressure off him because he’s not in a championship fight. I think we were confirmed of his potential.’
Sergio Perez, who won last weekend, might be making his last appearance on the grid for a while unless he can convince Red Bull Racing to take him for next season.
It is fair to say the Mexican has made the best possible case for himself, and received a congratulatory text following his victory from Red Bull decision-maker Helmut Marko.
‘It was nice to have that,’ said the Racing Point driver. ‘Regarding any decision, I think what they say publicly is correct. They will make a decision after the weekend. I don’t know when that decision will be. There’s not a lot of hurry any more. We waited so long that one or two weeks more, it doesn’t change that much. If I have to
take a year out, I’ll do it. But I am more determined than ever to come back. The victory gave me some peace for myself, but also a lot more hunger.’
Another driver who looks to be making his last appearance is Kevin Magnussen, while Romain Grosjean is missing what would have been his final race for Haas as he continues his convalescence following his fiery crash in Bahrain.
Haas have had quite the time of it these last couple of weeks, and now their 2021 signing Nikita Mazepin is feeling the heat. The Russian has been forced to apologise after sharing on social media a video of himself apparently inappropriately touching a woman in the back seat of a car. His
new employers condemned the video as ‘abhorrent’, which isn’t a great start to the 21-year-old’s career. Then again, Haas need his oligarch father’s money – reportedly £18milion a year.
Meanwhile, Russian motorsport official Igor Ermilin hinted F1 drivers used to be celebrated for their occasionally lewd behaviour. ‘Today, F1 drivers are emasculated, there are very few individuals left,’ said the former presidential adviser. ‘An F1 driver is a normal person who faces consequences for every sneeze.’
Mazepin’s new team-mate Mick Schumacher could not be more polite and clean cut, so this could develop into a rather interesting chalk-andcheese rivalry.