Hamilton is glad to be alive; Albon says it’s proof enough

Hamilton says the coronavirus has left its mark on seasonal performance (Photo: AFP)

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The season ended with a confident victory Max Verstappen, who, starting from pole position, didn’t win many chances for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi. Despite the result, the Red Bull driver is not entirely satisfied.

“We are clearly going to winter break in good spirits. It always feels good to win the last race, especially in a season that was very difficult anyway. However, we cannot rely on this result as we still have a long way to go and we also know in which areas we still have a lot of work to do. It’s not just about the car, it’s about the resource, for example. “ Verstappen said.

Valtteri Bottas saw the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi in second place, which means that he was able to maintain second place in the World Championship points race despite Verstappen’s victory. The Mercedes driver feels that he closed the year with strong competition and would not have been able to catch up with Red Bull today.

“I feel like Red Bull was surprisingly fast today. Bottas confessed. “We thought our race pace would be pretty much the same, but they were able to keep the race under their control and, when necessary, they could gain an advantage. I tried everything, but couldn’t keep up with them. I feel like it was a good race for me. I wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t have gotten out of the car anymore. I finished in front of my teammate, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get on the podium for the last time, and I enjoyed it even though we didn’t get champagne here. “

Bottas also mentioned what the next few weeks will be like for him.

“I have some more responsibilities next week, and then Christmas break comes. Hopefully I can meet my family as I don’t even remember when I last saw them. I charge a bit, I train too, and then I start over from scratch, only this time a little stronger ” – the Finnish pilot waits.

Had to miss his second race weekend in Bahrain Lewis Hamilton, after contracting the coronavirus. Although the seven-time world champion did not reveal much about how much the disease suffered, he was finally able to participate in the season finale and only after the race revealed that he still did not feel perfect.

“It was a pretty tough race for me. Hamilton betrayed. “I had a good physical experience all year, but clearly that was not the case today. I am grateful to have passed the race. As for my physical condition, I was clearly affected by the virus. I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted. I don’t feel good, but let’s look at the bright side of it all as I made it through to the end. I didn’t think I would be here last week. I am simply thankful for my health and for being alive. The next period will be one of full recovery for me. I will go back to normal training and my body will be back to how it should be. “

You still don’t know what the future holds Alexander Albon for him, but the Thai driver believes he did everything he could this weekend to keep his seat at Red Bull. Albon saw the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi in fourth place.

“I feel like it was my best race weekend, at least in terms of performance. Says the Red Bull driver. “I want to thank the guys at the factory for their support.” We didn’t give up and tried to find a way to make me feel better in the car because it was quite difficult to drive. I pushed hard and got my best results over the weekend despite the pressure on me. I’m proud of myself and I think it was a worthy end to the season. I don’t have to tell you if that’s enough to keep my meeting going. I, on the other hand, feel like I’ve done my best. I leave the decision to others. “

Whether Abu Dhabi’s performance will save the future of Red Bull de Albon, the stable’s team boss, Christian horner he also shared his views.

“Obviously we have a lot of data and we also know how it performed on different types of tracks. We sat down, looked at them, and made the right decision. Today what we were hoping for was clearly what happened as we could only put pressure on Mercedes if our drivers adopted different tactics. However, at the end of the race, Alex was able to catch up with them. I feel like he had a good race and finished the weekend well ”. Horner said.