Horner has solution for Verstappen: 'Hopefully enough'

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the stage on which Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will fight for the world title this weekend. Where the Dutchman can start the race from pole position, he is still far from his rival. Christian Horner therefore expects a tough race.

The British Red Bull Racing team boss saw how well the Mercedes car was put together during the free practice sessions. The German team seemed to be the favorite to take the first starting position for Sunday afternoon's race, but nothing was further from the truth. It was Verstappen who beat the Brit by a wide margin.

That performance gives Verstappen some breathing space heading into the denouement, but Horner certainly doesn't expect Hamilton to give up. "We've just got to get our heads down and run our best race tomorrow," he said in Red Bull's press release. "We know how good Mercedes are around this track, it's one of Lewis' strongest circuits, so we need to focus on ourselves and hopefully we'll do enough to win it."

Teammates of Verstappen and Hamilton

Verstappen and Hamilton will seemingly not be able to rely on support from their teammate during the race. Indeed, Sergio Perez set the fourth fastest time, while Valtteri Bottas starts from sixth position.