Hamilton won a highly contentious race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Horner claiming Mercedes' "spicy engine" gave them an advantage.
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Due to the straight-line speed displayed by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in Saudi Arabia, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is concerned about how the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend will unfold. Hamilton won a highly contentious race at the all-new Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Horner claiming Mercedes’ “spicy engine” gave them a significant advantage over Honda-powered Red Bull. The Formula One season now moves on to Abu Dhabi, where the title contenders are level on points, but the Yas Marina Circuit has been opened up to increase speeds and lower lap times, making Horner nervous.
“They’ve changed the layout and unfortunately the engine speed that Hamilton has, it’s… he was a second quicker [in the race at Jeddah], a second quicker in Sectors 2 and 3. Max would pull out half a second by Turn 13,” Horner said.
“You know, you can’t defend against that. It’s the most frustrating thing for a driver to be sitting with that kind of deficit. That’s what I think has been really frustrating, the last three or four races we have just been watching that dominant straight-line performance, which you can’t do anything about,” he added.
Despite his reservations, Horner insisted that the battle “is not over yet,” with Max Verstappen leading Hamilton on a victory countback. Verstappen, in Horner’s opinion, fully deserves to win his first F1 world title and, in doing so, prevent Hamilton from claiming a record-breaking eighth title.
“Max is a fighter and if there’s a driver that deserves to win this World Championship, it’s Max Verstappen, because Mercedes have had the better car,” added Horner.
“He has driven outstandingly. Look how close Valtteri [Bottas] has been to Lewis this year. Max has been head and shoulders, for me, the driver of the year. He would be very deserving, you know, to win this championship. The way he’s driven this year, the way he’s conducted himself, I think has been outstanding,” he concluded.
Lewis Hamilton won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position, ahead of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, despite two red flags. As a result, the two championship contenders will enter the Abu Dhabi finale level on points. At the start, Hamilton led Bottas and Verstappen – who had recovered from his qualifying crash – but on Lap 10, Mick Schumacher spun and crashed into the Turn 23 barriers. The Safety Car quickly turned into a red flag, giving Verstappen a free pit stop while the Mercedes was stopped under yellows.
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