De Vries helps Hamilton in title fight: "The work gives a first impression"

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12:39, 28 Nov 2021

Behind the scenes at Mercedes Nyck de Vries is working hard to prepare Mercedes for the title fight with Red Bull Racing. In his simulator, the Dutchman is doing his best to give Lewis Hamilton his eighth world title and in doing so, frustrate Max Verstappen.

Prior to each race weekend, the Formula One world champion is instructed by Mercedes to prepare the team for the race weekend in a simulator. "You're just supposed to get the most out of the setup yourself, to see if it delivers performance," he explained in an interview with Formule1.nl .

While that component is very important for the GP, De Vries stressed that it is ultimately up to Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to get the most out of their car on the track. "The work gives a first impression. From there you go further. The engineers obviously already have ideas or experience of a circuit and setup changes they want to try."

Mercedes drives important race in Saudi Arabia

De Vries' work could be very important next weekend. The drivers will then travel to Saudi Arabia to set up an important race on the circuit, which has just been completed in time. The difference between Verstappen and Hamilton is only eight points, so the Brit could lead the World Championship or Verstappen could be crowned.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	90
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	60
6	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	29
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	26
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	26
11	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	13
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

De Vries helps Hamilton in title fight: "The work gives a first impression"

Mercedes drives important race in Saudi Arabia

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