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F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Raikkonen advises Hamilton ahead of showdown

Kimi Raikkonen says Lewis Hamilton cannot afford to do 'anything different than normal' coming into this weekend's high stakes Abu Dhabi Grand Prix title showdown.

Raikkonen won the 2007 F1 world championship for Ferrari after successfully overturning a seven point deficit to Hamilton during the final round in Brazil.

Nine years later, Hamilton heads into the 2016 finale facing a 12 point margin to Nico Rosberg ahead of him, knowing he cannot afford anything less than a victory ideally if he wants to defeat his Mercedes team-mate.

Drawing on his own experiences, Raikkonen says his title win was made possible by focusing on the 'maximum' when he had nothing to lose, a tactic he suggests Hamilton should also adopt.

"When I was in that situation obviously we had nothing to lose, so we go as any other race. We had a strong weekend and a strong last part of the year so obviously that helped. I don't think there's a point in doing anything different than you normally do.

"You always come to a race and try to do the maximum. Our only chance was to try to win and then obviously had some luck involved and all things fell into place. Who knows what will happen on Sunday but whoever wins deserves it." 

Zdroj: crash.net