Horner has solution for Verstappen: 'Hopefully enough'

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19:49, 11 Dec 2021

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.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	115
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	106
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	73
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	70
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	55
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	37
9	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	32
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	28
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
12	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	14
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

Horner has solution for Verstappen: 'Hopefully enough'

Teammates of Verstappen and Hamilton

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