Hamilton eager for Abu Dhabi victory

Although Lewis Hamilton from the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team went home with the trophy a year ago, Nico Rosberg showed his skills at the previous race in Brazil.

Hamilton has finished second behind Rosberg in Mexico and Brazil after wrapping up his third world title with victory in the United States Grand Prix last month.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is at the end of a 19-race long season.

“Last year, this place brought probably the most intense weekend of my life”, said Hamilton, who attended the British Fashion Awards in Covent Garden, London on Monday night.

“I’m aiming to end the season on a big positive this time around”.

This year’s F1 challenge in the oil-rich desert sheikhdom on Yas Island is expected to fully sell out its 60,000 capacity within days, as Abu Dhabi counts down to the Middle East’s biggest sporting and entertainment weekend.

We have always been very supportive of each other, messaging each other after our races and so on.

Hamilton is not far behind Vettel, with two wins and three podiums in Abu Dhabi.

“I am excited to be here in Abu Dhabi, with the 44th UAE national day and I am here to try to win that 44th race which I still haven’t done, so it is cool how it all kind of ties in”.

Abu Dhabi marks the last race for this year’s Mercedes, the W06 Hybrid, one of the most dominant cars Formula One has ever known.

But Hamilton responded to Dennis’s comments in the best possible fashion on Friday after topping the timsheets in the sweltering heat of Abu Dhabi.

The world champion was 0.141 seconds ahead of Rosberg, the pair well clear of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in third.

Even if Rosberg does take pole position – and the odds suggest it’s a coin toss – the Yas Marina track offers better passing opportunities than Interlagos, while the reappearance of the super-soft tyre could swing things marginally back in the champion’s favour.

“I want to thank the team”. The Mercedes driver is known to be an avid fan of America and American culture but has not raced outside of F1 since making his debut in 2007. The first corner is the start of a flowing sequence of bends, where cars and drivers are subjected to lateral acceleration of up to 4 g and speeds in excess of 155 miles per hour. While it’s been a tough season for them due to all the travelling and tight time lines, it’s also been quite a tough year for us fans – well at least us neutrals that aren’t Mercedes fans.

“One of the best races for me was Austin, obviously the pinnacle of the year for me”.