“Of course pressure is one of the hopes that I have,” the German said. “If
Lewis feels the pressure and here makes a mistake as a result, a bit like
today – I haven’t seen it – but if you’re saying that, and a bit like
Brazil; that’s the sort of opportunities that I’m looking for and I’m trying
to push for.”
After Hamilton won five races on the trot, Rosberg had the look of a beaten
man. Somehow, he rattled Hamilton’s cage in Brazil and took a thoroughly
deserved win. A clean sweep yesterday in morning practice and qualifying
simply added to his assuredness.
His opponent and sparring partner since childhood has been harder to read. On
Thursday and Friday, Hamilton appeared genuinely relaxed. Sat in the
luxurious Abu Dhabi paddock, there did not seem to be a chink in his armour.
The decision to leave his father, Anthony, and girlfriend, Nicole
Scherzinger, at home seemed surprising but not overly influential on the
course of the weekend. A few calming words from Anthony will almost
certainly have been said last night.
Hamilton even seemed unsure about the fundamentals of his approach to today’s
vital race. First, he said he would tackle it “the same as always”.
Yet, as Hamilton has a tendency to do, a few moments later he changed his
tune.
It was put him that racing for second is not his style. Would he consider it
on this occasion? “I don’t know. We’ll see. You’re right, it’s not my style,
so we’ll decide tomorrow.” The glitz and glamour of the Yas Marina circuit
feels hollow enough as it is. If Hamilton cracks under pressure today, it
will feel like a graveyard.
Seasoned observes are worried by the Briton’s demeanour. “Nico is doing
everything – and I mean everything – to get to the high ground over Lewis,”
Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, said last night. “Lewis looks sometimes
as if Nico is getting to him. I am concerned about that for Lewis’s sake.
It’s like golf. The hard bit comes when you get near the hole. It’s the
50-yard chip with a half swing. I am not sure Lewis is so good at that.”
But then, like a yo-yo, a couple hours after qualifying when he spoke to the
press again, Hamilton was markedly more chipper. Perhaps a chat with his
friend, the singer Pharrell Williams, brightened his mood. It did make him
late for the engineering meeting, however.
“I don’t really pay much attention to him, no,” Hamilton said afterwards. “Of
course for Nico, for sure, he is trying everything possible in his head to
come up with some kind of way of dealing with things I guess. For me, I just
keep to myself and do my talking on the track.”
My feeling is that given the dominance of the Mercedes, as long as Hamilton
stays out of trouble, he should manage to hold onto his lead. But Hamilton
never makes things easy for himself.
The talking on track yesterday held some worrying signs. Rosberg drew first
blood, with a convincing sweep to pole. It was an impressive statement of
intent, going nearly 0.4sec quicker while Hamilton’s session was littered
with errors. Rosberg has been trying to get inside Hamilton’s head all
weekend: this will have done the job nicely. It also means Rosberg ends the
year with 11 pole positions to Hamilton’s seven; an astonishing record given
the Briton’s prowess over one lap.
The sun went down and the temperature cooled, but the heat went up inside
Hamilton and Rosberg’s cockpits as qualifying got under way. There was an
amusing story on Saturday morning that a bunch of Hamilton fans had moored a
yacht next to the Mercedes hospitality unit, in a bid to make a racket and
disturb Rosberg’s Zen-like mood. The only downside is Hamilton’s room is
just down the corridor. Despite the noise, both seemed unperturbed on the
evidence of the early running.
Jenson Button was having a more troubled time in what is set to be his final
race. The team told him to come in due to problems with fuel (seemingly,
there was not enough). “Are you serious?” was his terse reply.
He ended up eighth, and was hopeful last night of being promoted to sixth,
with both the Red Bulls investigated for a front wing infringement.
Now in darkness, the two protagonists in this desert duel were ready to fight
it out for the most important pole position of the year. While Rosberg went
faster still, Hamilton wavered. In the final two corners, he ran wide,
locking up and losing time. It was a ragged effort leaving him 0.3s off his
team-mate.
The final laps did not change the pecking order. The stage is now set for the
showdown everyone wanted. All Hamilton needs to do is keep his cool.