The title battle is as close as it gets. With both the protagonists entering the battle at level points, anything could happen. Including DNFs. While a crash would depend on the drivers, reliability falls on the team. Further, looking at the first practice session of the weekend, Mercedes didn’t have the pace they wanted. However, it won’t be something that will hold them back.

Max Verstappen topped the timesheets two-tenths clear of Valtteri Bottas, while Lewis Hamilton finished 0.346 seconds behind his rival. Not what the team was looking for. Andrew Shovlin, the team’s engineering director, shed light on the situation.

“The normal. Where you put the aero balance and the mechanical balance. We can tune that in the corners which you are playing with and some work we need to do regarding lines that other people are doing. We need to see what we can find there. Plenty to look at.”

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With the first set of data derived from the alleged Mercedes-favoring track, Shovlin knows the team will fix the problem at hand. “The long-run we did looked okay, but there is areas that we need to find a bit of a solution.”

Will Mercedes risk engine change in Abu Dhabi?

It will be a crucial race for the team, who need to fight for two championships; neither will be easy. While Mercedes hopes to win their eighth title as a constructor, they need to prevent Red Bull from a 1-2 finish in Abu Dhabi.

In the midst of all this, will Mercedes give their leading soldier a fresh engine?

SkySports pundit Ted Kravitz believes so. “[An engine change] is possible… A Mercedes the like of which Lewis Hamilton had in Brazil, which was nigh-on unbeatable. Not my words – the words of Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal.”

Although this would give Hamilton a five-place grid drop, the past has proved that this is no impediment to Hamilton. “The benefits are that obviously, it gives Mercedes a fresh power unit, and that Mercedes engine when it is fresh is absolutely mega-powerful, more than it would be now it has done two-and-a-half races.”

Regardless, there is all to play for. As the winner takes all at the Yas Marina Circuit, will the celebratory donuts be Mercedes’ or Red Bull’s?

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