Wednesday, December 1st, 2021
“Brutal and callous”
Will Hamilton become the Lion of Jeddah?
Max Verstappen has been on course for a world championship for a long time. But suddenly the lion Lewis Hamilton wakes up. He wins again and looks invincible. He is “brutal and callous,” says his boss Toto Wolff about him. The penultimate World Championship race on the weekend promises to be very exciting.
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff have long been more than just employees and bosses. Often the two sat together for nine years together to negotiate contracts, exchange values or chat privately. That is why you should sit up and take notice when Mercedes sports director Wolff says of the most successful Formula 1 driver in history: “The lion has woken up. Lewis is fully involved. Brutal and callous.” The vegan Hamilton tasted blood before the penultimate race of the season in Saudi Arabia. After the São Paulo sprint on November 13th, he was 21 World Championship points behind his rival Max Verstappen, the sole title record seemed to be gone. With gala races in Brazil and Qatar, the world champion shortened the gap to eight points.
At first glance, this development is no cause for panic for Verstappen. On the contrary: Only the 24-year-old can do it on Sunday (6.30 p.m. CET / RTL and in the live ticker on ntv.de) Become world champion on the brand new course in Jeddah. To do this, the Red Bull driver has to get 18 points more than Hamilton – which, given the latest impressions, probably requires extraordinary circumstances. After all, Hamilton holds a few trump cards. On the one hand, there is his immense experience. The son of a worker from Stevenage has been racing in Formula 1 since 2007, he has won at least one race every season, and in the eleventh year he is fighting for the title to the end – he won it seven times, as often as only Michael Schumacher. Hamilton, who has meanwhile been knighted, combines experience with natural talent and strong nerves. “I love the pressure and what is required of you,” he says.
Only “full attack” helps against lions
“It’s certainly not easy for Max, because this is his first time in such a situation,” says Nico Rosberg. The German was the last to defeat Hamilton in the title fight in 2016 – after that he resigned, the batteries were completely empty. “You have to take advantage of when Lewis has his weak phases, in which he loses his motivation a little, his head. Then it’s a full attack,” explained Rosberg in an interview with the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland”. Verstappen seems to have missed this opportunity. Hamilton is mentally on top again and recently had the strongest overall package. And Mercedes has an ace up its sleeve for the Formula 1 premiere on the new high-speed circuit in Jeddah: The engine that helped Hamilton to victory in Brazil from the very rear is installed in the car with the number 44.
“We saved the fire for the last two races,” said Wolff sardonically: “We’re on the hunt. The car is probably better than it has ever been this season.” With the designers, Mercedes is a tiny five points ahead of Red Bull. To win the eighth title in a row on Sunday and expand the one-time series, however, everything would have to fit together. Especially since at Red Bull, given the experiences of this crazy season, they continue to believe in their chance. “The top speed is right,” said motorsport advisor Helmut Marko after the Qatar blow in the neck: “We still have to win a race. We haven’t met our expectations in Brazil and here, then we have to do it in Jeddah.”