Hamilton predicts "super close" qualifying showdown despite practice dominance

Lewis Hamilton has predicted the qualifying battle between himself and F1 title rival Max Verstappen will be "super close" despite a dominant display in second practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver topped FP2 at the Yas Marina Circuit by three-tenths of a second over Alpine's Esteban Ocon with Dutchman Verstappen only fourth and a further three-tenths down.

Hamilton had finished behind the Red Bull driver in the less representative first session of the weekend and asked for his view on the day, the seven-time champion replied: "It was ok. It has been a relatively decent day.

"I like the track and the changes they made to the track. It has made the track much more enjoyable, much more flowing.

"It is close between us all but we got through our sessions and it is still a bit unknown in terms of pace but I am sure it is going to be super close as it has been in previous races.

On the balance of his W12, he added: "It doesn't feel too bad. It started off good, got a little bit worse in FP1 and then started off better in the second session with some changes we made.

"Now we have got to get through the data and figure out how we improve, how we home-in. The target is always moving but we are good."

Yas Marina has seen changes made to its layout in order to promote more exciting racing.

Commenting on the potential for overtaking during Sunday's grand prix, Hamilton said: "I actually tried following on my long run.

"I tried following, I think it was [Sergio] Perez I was behind, and I was trying to follow and it wasn't easy, still wasn't easy to follow but I think it will be better than what we have seen in the past.

"If the two cars are very much alike, it might be a little bit different."

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