Abu Dhabi GP: It’s 1-0 to Red Bull, says Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolf- Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had the early lead in his title battle with Lewis Hamilton after taking pole position for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi decider but the Briton would be fired up to hunt him down.
“You have to take it like it is. It’s 1-0 for them,” said the Austrian.
Verstappen and seven times world champion Hamilton go into the race level on points but with the Dutch driver 9-8 ahead on race wins.
The 24-year-old will be world champion if he stays ahead of Hamilton or the Briton fails to score.
Abu Dhabi GP: It’s 1-0 to Red Bull, says Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolf
Abu Dhabi GP: The pair are on different tyre strategies, however, with Verstappen starting on quicker but faster-wearing softs while Hamilton is on more durable mediums which means he will be able to go longer before pitting.
“From P2 (second) I would much rather be starting on the medium,” Wolff told Sky Sports television. “We will have a slight disadvantage on the start, I guess, and the first six or seven laps if he drives fast.
“We can go longer, we can go for an aggressive undercut also and try to control track position. Overnight we will be running lots of programmes and algorithms to see where that ends.”
Wolff said Red Bull’s long runs looked better in Friday practice, but Mercedes had just not got the tyres in the performance window.
Verstappen damaged his set of medium tyres in the second phase of qualifying and switched to softs.
In the final phase, he got an aerodynamic tow from team mate Sergio Perez but Mercedes did not try the same between Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
“Who is going to be faster tomorrow will win the race, irrespective of who starts on which tyre,” said Wolff. “We just need to build on that and regroup and then hopefully come out on top tomorrow.
Abu Dhabi GP: It’s 1-0 to Red Bull, says Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolf
“I think he (Hamilton) is going to be angry and motivated for tomorrow to just hunt him down. We are on the back foot and sometimes that’s not bad as a starting point.”
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