Verstappen and Hamilton insist they both enjoy their rivalry ahead of deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Both
go
into
Sunday’s
final
race
of
the
season
level
on
369.5
points,
just
the
second
time
the
top
two
in
F1
have
headed
into
the
finale
all
square.

Red
Bull’s
Verstappen
beat
Mercedes
and
Hamilton
to
pole
position
on
Saturday
(December
11)
by
0.371
seconds
with
a
flying
lap
that
gives
him
a
clear
view
of
his
first
world
championship.

Abu
Dhabi
GP:
Verstappen
grabs
pole

Should
he
win
his
eighth
title
on
Sunday
(December
12),
Hamilton
will
surpass
Michael
Schumacher
in
becoming
the
driver
to
have
won
the
most
world
championships
in
F1
history.

Speaking
at
a
media
conference
ahead
of
Sunday’s
race,
Verstappen
and
Hamilton
were
both
asked
to
list
some
positives
about
the
other,
despite
the
rivalry
appearing
to
turn
nasty
in
recent
times.

“I
think
Lewis
has
already
won
so
many
championships,
but
also
this
year
I
think
we
have
been
pushing
each
other,
certainly
in
some
races,
to
the
limit,”
Verstappen
said.

“We
have
been
really
basically
trying
to
get
everything
out
of
our
cars,
tyres,
to
the
last
lap,
to
the
last
corner
and
that’s
very
exciting,
especially
when
it’s
been
between
two
teams
as
well
because
when
it’s
team-mates,
it’s
always
a
bit
different.

“But
when
two
teams
are
fighting,
you
have
different
strategies
you
don’t
know
about,
preparation,
so
it
has
been
really
enjoyable
for
most
of
the
time.

“That’s
normal
in
a
championship
and
yeah,
of
course,
in
10,
20
years’ time,
people
will
look
back
at
it,
even
myself,
and
you
will
remember
this
year
for
sure.”

Hamilton
agreed,
adding:
“Well
said.
I
agree
fully.
It’s
been
an
incredible
year,
an
amazing
battle
and
I’m
grateful
that
I’ve
had
such
a
close
battle
with
Max
and
his
team.

“I
think
they’ve
done
an
exceptional
job
and
shown
true
strength
and
so
it’s
pushed
us
to
the
limit
in
ways
that
we
needed
and
we,
I
think,
have
grown
stronger
as
a
team
in
ways
we
didn’t
know
that
we
could
grow
and
yeah,
it’s
been
amazing.
I
hope
that
we
have
many
more
seasons
like
this.”

STARTING
GRID

How
we’ll
line
up
for
our
title
decider
on
Sunday!#AbuDhabiGP
????????

#F1
pic.twitter.com/RqO6HNorCK

—
Formula
1
(@F1)

December
11,
2021

The
Dutchman
does
enjoy
a
slender
advantage
in
the
title
race
due
to
his
superior
win
tally,
and
is
also
boosted
by
the
fact
that
the
Abu
Dhabi
Grand
Prix’s
winner
has
started
from
pole
in
each
of
the
last
six
races,
though
he
was
keen
to
play
down
the
significance
of
statistics.

“First
of
all,” Verstappen
said.
“I
never
look
at
these
stats
because
these
things
can
already
change
at
the
start
or
whatever,
first
lap,
so
I
just
need
to
focus
on
what
we
can
control
as
a
team
and
yeah,
the
coming
hours.

“I
think
what’s
most
important
is
to
have
a
good
sleep,
but
also
I
have
friends
and
family
around,
so
I’m
not
going
to
do
anything
different
to
what
I
normally
have
been
doing.”

Verstappen
will
start
on
a
soft
tyre
that
should
initially
work
in
his
favour,
potentially
leaving
Hamilton
–
on
mediums
–
battling
the
chasing
pack.
Hamilton
is
not
too
worried,
though,
saying:
“I
feel
good.
I’m
happy
that
I’m
on
the
front
row.
I
can
see
my
opponent.

“Obviously
it’s
going
to
be
a
little
bit
harder
at
the
start
off
the
medium
tyre
as
opposed
to
the
soft
tyre
but
nonetheless,
I’m
giving
it
everything.”