Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen says the alterations made to Abu Dhabi’s layout has made the circuit more “fun to drive” after sampling the changes in Friday practice.
Verstappen goes into the final round level on points with Lewis Hamilton, marking the first time since 1974 two drivers have been tied on the same amount of points ahead of the last race of the season.
The Red Bull driver dominated last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but the Yas Marina Circuit has undergone major changes since the 2020 race to increase overtaking chances.
Lap times have been estimated to be around 10-15 seconds faster on the revised layout, and Verstappen backed the tracks re-modifications after finishing fourth fastest in second practice.
“I think it [the track changes] makes it a bit more fun to drive,” Verstappen said.
“In general faster corners are more fun, especially also the last sector was always a bit tight off camber. It’s still off camber but at least the radius is a bit more round, let’s say. I do think they are positive.”
Verstappen topped the morning practice session but finished over six-tenths adrift of title rival Hamilton in FP2, admitting Red Bull was lacking pace over one-lap.
“We are still learning and understanding a few things, but the short runs clearly didn’t go to plan, lacking a bit of pace, but I think the long runs were quite a bit more competitive, so that’s also important,” Verstappen said.
Hamilton, who set the quickest time of the day with a 1m23.691s, also praised the circuit’s changes, hoping they prove more effective in allowing drivers to follow another car more closely than previous years.
“It has been a relatively decent day, I like the track and the changes they have made to the track, it has made the track much more enjoyable and much more flowing,” Hamilton said.
“It is obviously close between us all but we got through our sessions and it is still a bit of an unknown in terms of pace but I am sure it is going to be super close like it has been in the previous races.
“I tried following on my long run, I think it was Perez I was behind, I was trying to follow but it still wasn’t easy to follow, but I think it will be better than what we’ve seen in the past. I think with two cars very much alike it might be a bit different.”
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