Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Mercedes track engineer Andrew Shovlin have both suggested that Lewis Hamilton would be the favorite to win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend ahead of Max Verstappen. The Brit is currently eight points behind his Red Bull rival in the drivers’ standings, with only two races left to decide this year’s hard-fought battle for glory.
Verstappen has beaten Hamilton for most of the campaign to date and will have the opportunity to seal his first title in Saudi Arabia.
He will take the singles honors if he wins the streets of Jeddah and Hamilton lands in seventh or lower place.
The Dutchman will also prevail if he finishes second and his Mercedes colleague doesn’t get a point.
However, the latter can fight back and secure a notable eighth triumph in the Drivers’ Championship if he wins the two remaining Grands Prix, regardless of what Verstappen does.
Hamilton has enjoyed a considerable advantage over his title rival in the last few weeks and is aiming for a third race win in a row in Saudi Arabia.
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The defending champions will have the added benefit of a powerful new engine, with Mercedes re-installing the same power unit that led them to a commanding victory in Brazil earlier this month.
It seems like the general consensus is that Hamilton will be the favorites to see the checkered flag again this weekend when the grid makes its first trip to Jeddah.
Red Bull boss Horner has indicated that Verstappen could have a long afternoon ahead of him if Mercedes manages to maintain its impressive speed advantage at the penultimate Grand Prix of the year.
“I think it’s going to be tight [but] the next route should probably favor Mercedes, “said Horner to RaceFans.
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“Abu Dhabi, with the modifications made there, who knows, but it was incredibly close, so we’re going into these races with an eight point lead in the drivers ‘championship, we have reduced the lead in the constructors’ championship to five points.
“So both of them are fully involved and that is fantastic as we are now at the climax of this World Cup.”
Mercedes engineer Shovlin, meanwhile, is also confident that Hamilton will win the race and force a title decision on the final day in Abu Dhabi.
“When we look at the route in Saudi Arabia, I think it should suit us,” said the 48-year-old.
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“For Lewis, we have the more powerful engine in the car, so that will give him a useful boost.”
However, Shovlin also pointed out that Red Bull has often surprised Mercedes this season by not ruling out the possibility of Verstappen eventually crossing the finish line first.
“The track should match the car, but then we would probably have said that in Austin,” he added.
“We felt like we should be able to put together a decent setup and bring the fight to Red Bull and they had a bit of an advantage there. So we’re always careful when we go to a race because we think anything will happen. ” go our way.
“What we do know, however, are the things that we have to get right with the setup, what we need with the tires and how they work.”
