Formula 1: duel reopened – Hamilton: “Will be more aggressive”

Formula 1: duel reopened – Hamilton: “Will be more aggressive”

At least verbally, the first tips were fired before the first free practice session. “I’ll be a more aggressive driver this year, you’ll see,” assured Lewis Hamilton with a smile on his face when asked about future duels with world champion Max Verstappen. In turn, he accused Mercedes of cheating during the tests.

“They will be at the back. Based on your comments, I think they have a terrible car. And have been since 2017,” remarked the Red Bull champion with biting irony before the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain on Sunday (4 p.m CET/live ORF 1 and Sky). According to Verstappen, Mercedes deliberately talks itself weak.

The first training session in Sakhir was topped by Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri with a time of 1:34.193. The Frenchman was around four tenths faster than the Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Then came George Russell (+0.436), the first Mercedes man, followed immediately by Verstappen (+0.549). Hamilton (+0.750) drove the seventh fastest lap time, Verstappen teammate Sergio Perez (+0.857) was tenth.

There are many unknowns in the first year of the Formula 1 rule revolution with completely renewed aerodynamics – Verstappen’s determination ahead of this 245-day season is not one of them. “The motivation is the same and even higher because you want to keep winning,” assured the Dutchman. His first title took the burden off him. “That pressure of wanting and needing it is gone, but we want to keep winning races,” he said.

After the controversial 2021 World Cup final, Verstappen does not feel under the pressure to prove himself. “No, I proved it with the most wins, the most poles and the most laps in the lead. People forget that because they only look at Abu Dhabi. But we have more races than just Abu Dhabi this season,” said Verstappen.

Even seven-time world champion Hamilton doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. In the history of Formula 1 he has, among other things, collected the most victories and most pole positions (103 each). But there is no trace of complacency in the Briton even before his 16th season.

“I want to be the best I can be,” he said. “I don’t hold grudges, I don’t have any burdens to carry into the season,” he confessed after the heart-stopping final last December, when he lost what seemed certain to win the title in the last round. As for his helmet, the 37-year-old has harked back to his early days in karting and is racing with a predominantly yellow design this year.

Source: Nachrichten

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