Hamilton hopes for McLaren in 2021: "That would be great for the fans"

All attention went to Max Verstappen and his pole position after qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but McLaren was also very strong in the decisive part of the session. Lando Norris came two tenths behind Verstappen and Carlos Sainz was only six tenths short in the end. Next year McLaren will be driving a Mercedes engine and that should help them.

After the qualifying session the top three were asked whether they had expected the small gap to McLaren. Lewis Hamilton is happy to see that his old team is going so well. "Yeah, look at all that they have changes, because they will be using our engines next year." Hamilton therefore expects McLaren to perform well in 2021.

"It's good to see that they finish the year with a good car, so it could just be that they are fighting with us next year. Then it will be three teams fighting for the championship again. That would be great for the fans," Hamilton explains.

Where the reigning world champion still has hope for McLaren in the future, Verstappen explains that he can't judge what McLaren has in store for him. "I didn't drive the car, so I don't know how good it is. At least on this track they seem to be doing well," the Dutchman concludes.