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“It’s definitely been a difficult weekend”- Lewis Hamilton points COVID-19 recovery for comparatively sluggish performance

Tanish Chachra
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"It's definitely been a difficult weekend"- Lewis Hamilton points COVID-19 recovery for comparatively sluggish performance

“It’s definitely been a difficult weekend”- Lewis Hamilton puts blame on COVID-19 recovery exhaustion as he finished on the second grid.

Lewis Hamilton has surprisingly finished on the second grid, which is something now rare to see, as Mercedes dominates the F1 track in the hybrid era.

The Yas Marina is usually a stronghold of Mercedes have not finished on the pole here for the first time since 2013, as Max Verstappen cruises over Valtteri Bottas’ lap time.

“It’s definitely been a difficult weekend, just getting back into a rhythm. Even though it’s only a couple of weeks off it just felt like you’d lost that momentum and I’ve really struggled with the balance this weekend.

“But still I gave it my all and congratulations to Max. It’s a great way for him to seal a year of great performance. It’s always nice to seal first but it just makes it more exciting. I’m definitely excited to see how I can turn it around.”

Max Verstappen on course for a second win this season

Verstappen had an impressive run in the qualifying, as he unexpectedly passed over Bottas, who seemed to be on the pole with his lap timing at Yas Marina.

As the circuit since its introduction has been attacked for its lack of aggression and the overtakes, which makes the fans find the race boring for a long time.

Though it is true that it is difficult for a car to beat the leading car at Abu Dhabi, it has been Mercedes all this while, who have been leading upfront for most of the times.

Thus, it will be interesting to see how Red Bull will be maintaining its advantage, and will it change the competition for the P1 on Sunday, as the final race of the season is here.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra

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Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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