Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has admitted he’d be pleased with a second-place finish for his team following a season of dominance from Red Bull.
As their multi-million dollar race comes down to the wire, Lewis Hamilton has acknowledged that he would be “proud” if Mercedes ended up in second place in the Formula One Constructors’ Championship. Mercedes and Ferrari are fighting it out for second place behind Red Bull in the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, where both teams are hoping for a strong podium finish.
While the exact amount of money each spot is worth is not made public, it’s understood the gulf between second and third place in prize money could be close to ÂŁ10million. As a result, the final race is a lucrative and important one for both teams.
Hamilton has enjoyed a mixed season with Mercedes amid the dominance of Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The British driver has enjoyed six podium finishes – coming second in Mexico, Spain and Australia, and third in Singapore, Silverstone and Canada – but is yet to claim a win.
His Mercedes teammate George Russell has seen less success behind the wheel with just the one podium finish all season – finishing third at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the Spanish Grand Prix. The pair are in third and eighth in the standings respectively.
Both driver’s finishes have awarded Mercedes with 392 points for the season, but Ferrari are hot on their heels with 388 points accumulated by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Sainz has three podium finishes and a win at the Singapore Grand Prix back in September this season. Leclerc is yet to claim a win but has ended five races on the podium, including a recent second place finish at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Despite two strong runs from both teams, they are well behind league leaders Red Bull, who are far ahead of 822 points.
Ahead of the final race of the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, both Mercedes and Ferrari will therefore be battling it out for second place in the Constructors’ Championship – something that Hamilton believes would be a remarkable achievement for the team.
“The one that I might be proud of is getting second for the team, just knowing how hard everyone’s worked back at the factory,” Hamilton told Channel 4. “It’s been a tough two years for everybody, but the fact that we are fighting for second in the Championship is pretty amazing to recover in that way.”
Mercedes know they will miss out on millions if they fail to retain their spot in second place. The team’s prize money is based on a pot worth $1 billion (ÂŁ800m) which is split between the ten teams.
A second-place finish would see Mercedes earn around ÂŁ104m in prize money, according to Autosport. However, a third-place finish would mean around ÂŁ97m in winnings.
The winning prize money has already been in Red Bull’s hands for the majority of the season thanks to 29 podiums between Verstappen and Perez. The pair have won all but one race all season with the only blemish on Red Bull’s record coming courtesy of Carlos Sainz’s Singapore Grand Prix win back in Sept.
Verstappen – who has proactively been delegated Title holder for a third back to back year – has 18 successes and 20 platform completes most of the time to make up the greater part of the group’s accomplishments. Perez has nine platform completions and two wins that came in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
Hamilton and Russel will trust Mercedes will complete the season in runner up after a solid run at the Abu Dhabi Terrific Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, November 26.