F1 legend Stewart tips Lotus to topple Vettel in Abu Dhabi

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Attention may be fixed on world champion Sebastian Vettel in Abu Dhabi this weekend but for Sir Jackie Stewart there’s reason to believe someone can step up and end the German’s remarkable winning streak.

    Vettel has run away with the last six Grands Prix, winning each race from Belgium onwards, but Stewart says one of the two Lotus drivers can steal the four-time world champion’s thunder tomorrow.

    Raikkonen arrives in Abu Dhabi the defending champion, while Grosjean will be looking to improve on from last year when he crashed out on lap 37.

    “I think the Lotus is going to go well here. And Christmas doesn’t last forever,” Stewart told Sport360°. “So there is a possibility of the Lotus team being good enough. Either with Grosjean or Kimi. It’s not impossible.”

    Grosjean set the pace in the first practice session yesterday afternoon, banging in a lap of 1m 44.241 seconds while Raikkonen was competitive in FP2. And while Red Bull remain the team to beat, Stewart says they haven’t been really challenged this season and sooner or later, someone is bound to step up.

    – Bits from the pits: Sport360's inside track on the Abu Dhabi GP

    “The Red Bull has unquestionably been the best team with the best car with the best driver all year. But Ferrari have been uncompetitive, McLaren have been uncompetitive, so there comes a time when somebody will be beaten,” the three-time world champion added.

    Raikkonen is one of only three drivers to have won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – along with Vettel and Lewis Hamilton – but rumours are rife of trouble in the Lotus garage following the foul-mouthed exchange between Kimi Raikkonen and Trackside Operations Director Alan Permane in India.

    Lotus boss Eric Boullier will discuss Raikkonen’s defiance in Abu Dhabi, but when the Finn did not show up for a scheduled media session on Thursday at Yas some wondered whether the departing driver would even take part in the last three races of the season.

    Stewart though believes Raikkonen remains committed to his current team. He said: “I still think Kimi wants to win races. Every racing driver wants to get another Grand Prix victory.”

    Numerous regulation changes are set to take place next season in what is being described by many as the most radical introduced in Formula One.

    The current 2.4-litre normally-aspirated V8 engines are to be replaced with 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines, gearboxes are to have eight forward ratios rather than the current seven, and a larger proportion of each car’s power will come from Energy Recovery Systems. Those being just a few changes.

    And, while many drivers believe the changes will help level the competition field next season and could slow down Red Bull’s domination, Stewart says it’s too soon to tell.

    “I think there’s such a lot of change happening with the engine, nobody quite knows whether the Mercedes engine will be faster than the Renault or the Ferrari and with Honda coming the following year. I think it’s going to be a new game and we have to wait and see,” the 74-year-old Scot said.

    * For breaking news, follow us on @Sport_360 or find us on Facebook.

    Recommended