Nico Rosberg claims that Max Verstappen didn’t want to start the race with soft tyres, but Red Bull forced him to do it for the pole.
In the Q2 of Abu Dhabi GpP’s qualifying, Lewis Hamilton was just four-thousands of a second ahead of Max Verstappen, and that’s what favours Hamilton for the pole during the session.
Red Bull soon decided to change their tyres to the soft compound for the next flying lap, meaning Verstappen will start the race with soft tyres on Sunday.
But according to Nico Rosberg, Verstappen wasn’t in favour of that decision. But he had to comply with his team’s demands, and according to the German, that’s what might change the outcome of tomorrow’s results.
“This guy just delivered something magical. That’s it. It just comes down to that,” Rosberg mightily praised Verstappen. “As Max said, the interesting thing is he didn’t want to be on the soft for tomorrow. That’s what keeps it full of suspense for tomorrow.”
The medium tyres are more durable than the soft tyres, but the latter gives a significant speed advantage. So over here, Mercedes might manage to dominate Verstappen in the long run, even after the initial setback.
Max Verstappen nails Q3
It seems Red Bull forced its hand too much in Q2, as Verstappen could get a pole against Hamilton on the same tyres in Q3. Though he received a brilliant tow from Sergio Perez, the Dutchman put in an incredible lap.
Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is relishing the prospect of starting with medium tyres while Red Bull is on the soft. Even Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits, starting on softs isn’t ideal, but the tyre wear for the medium can work their gamble out.
It only remains to be seen how Yas Marina will treat both teams with opposite tyre strategies. The race is now the only point of place to separate the title protagonists to determine the 2021 champion.
