Lewis Hamilton, chasing his second world championship, will start second in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday after again being beaten to pole position by Nico Rosberg, his great rival and Mercedes team‑mate. Hamilton was a poor second in both runs in Q3, the qualifying shootout to decide the grid positions for the final race of the season. He needs to come first or second in the double-points decider to capitalise on his lead of 17 points and definitely win the title.
But after qualifying Rosberg, who has won five races to Hamilton’s 10, warned him that he would keep the pressure on. The German said: “Lewis has everything to lose and I have everything to gain. The pressure is on him. I will keep the pressure on him as much as possible. And maybe he will make another mistake, as we saw today and in Brazil.
“I will keep all the pressure on and he’s been doing several mistakes lately. These are the signs that give me hope. The racing is what I needed to work on most. It’s intense. It’s not a walk in the park. But it’s a great moment at the same time.”
But Hamilton retorted: “I don’t really pay much attention to him. If I made any mistakes it will be the same amount as him. He had to do an extra lap on the race tyre, which will probably have an effect, whereas my tyres are perfect for the race. There’s been very, very few mistakes through the year, so I’m not worried.
“For Nico, he is trying everything possible in his head to come up with some kind of way of dealing with things. That’s just how he deals with it. For me, I just keep to myself and do my talking on the track.”
Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel were disqualified from qualifying and will start from the back of the grid. The Red Bull drivers had originally qualified fifth and sixth for the race, only for their cars to later be declared illegal due to an aerodynamic influence.
It is Vettel’s final race for the team before the German, champion for the past four years, joins Ferrari on a three‑year contract from next year.
