Abu Dhabi: The clash for the coveted Formula One championship trophy in the final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will see a contest between two childhood friends — Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Their love for speed brought them together during their karting days and since then they have waged many a battle against each other. However, the next three days at the Yas Marina Circuit will be a completely different ball game for the ultra-competitive Mercedes teammates.
It is a fight for a dream that they have chased all through their youth, leaving no room for camaraderie with a full-fledged war on the cards.
Hopefully, there is no love lost after all those fierce wheel-to-wheel skirmishes this season as both vowed they will go out all cylinders blazing in the final race.
“Yeah, it is quite amazing to think that 15-years later we’re actually in that position which we used to dream about — fighting for the championship, fighting for race wins. It’s really amazing. Of course, now it is more intense, there is more surrounding it and that’s the best way to put it,” said Rosberg, recollecting the glorious days of the past.
Hamilton also echoed similar feelings as Rosberg, but revealed that they had always engaged in absorbing battles.
“It generally feels quite similar to back in the karting days. At that age, it was intense as I had experienced. I wanted to win back then and nothing’s changed,” said Hamilton, who has accumulated 10 wins this season.
Despite experiencing mixed results in previous appearance at YAS, where he scored two pole positions and a win and had to endure a pair of retirements when leading the race, the Briton was upbeat about his chances on Sunday.
“I’m sure there are positives with it. It is a great circuit, it’s generally suited the car that I had when I was back in McLaren years ago and it’s definitely a track that suited my driving style in the past. However, every year is different and I hope to take that positivity into this weekend,” said the 29-yea-old.
Rosberg, coming on the back of his victory in Brazil, was keen to keep the momentum going and win the race. He had qualified ahead of Lewis here last year and that would be huge boost for him.
“I’m not really thinking about what happened before. At the moment, I’m focused on trying to win this race. But, of course, knowing that my qualifying form has been really good is nice. That should be another plus going into this race,” said Rosberg, who is trailing Hamilton by 17 points.
Rosberg is well aware that he does not just need to win the race but also hope that Hamilton doesn’t finish second and for that, he might need some sort of divine intervention.
“Lewis is a great competitor and opponent. It will be a great end to the season. I’m here to try and win the race and then need a bit of help from Lewis that he doesn’t finish second. So, I’m hoping Lewis can come up with something,” said Rosberg sporting a broad grin.
“Lot of things can happen but it can happen as easy as Williams, for example, having a great start and slotting in between us two. The track is one of the most difficult to overtake. The speed difference you need to overtake the guy in front is really very big at this track. But there are many scenarios, so as I say, I’m optimistic.”
