"I'm still on the front row": Lewis Hamilton believes he has a chance during Abu Dhabi GP despite ominous pole position statistic

Lewis Hamilton is still optimistic about his world championship challenge despite missing out on pole position in Abu Dhabi. The Briton's time of 1:22.480 means he will start in P2 behind title rival Max Verstappen when the lights go out at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday.

Not only will the seven-time champion line up behind Verstappen, but he will also be starting on the slower medium tires.

Irrespective of all that, Lewis Hamilton was still upbeat while speaking to David Coulthard in the post-qualifying interviews. When asked about his chances for the race, he said:

"I'm still on the front row. We've got the difference, obviously, in the tires but I'm grateful I can see where he is and we can try and navigate from there."

Lewis Hamilton comes into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the back of three successive wins at Interlagos, Losail and Jeddah, but an ominous statistic could haunt the seven-time world champion.

The last six races at the Yas Marina Circuit have been won by the pole sitter, going all the way back to Nico Rosberg in 2015.

Max Verstappen was the winner in 2020 and will know what needs to be done to secure victory. The fact that he will start on tires faster than his title rival's could also prove crucial in the title fight.

Lewis Hamilton has 103 wins in the sport. He will need his 104th to happen tomorrow if he has to have any hope of taking home his eighth drivers' world championship.

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Lewis Hamilton can take confidence from practice pace

Lewis Hamilton may have lacked pace in qualifying and that could well be down to him not getting Valtteri Bottas to provide a slipstream, like Sergio Perez did for Red Bull teammate Verstappen. But the Briton was plenty fast in the first two practice sessions at the Yas Marina Circuit and should take confidence from it.

Speaking to senior F1 writer Lawrence Barretto when asked about the changes made to the car, Lewis Hamilton said:

"It doesn't feel too bad. It started off good and then got a bit worse in P1 and then it started off better in the second session with some changes we made. Now we're just going to crank through the data and try and figure out how we can improve, where we home in. The target is always moving. Otherwise, it felt good."

Lewis Hamilton and his team of technicians and engineers at Mercedes have one more day to process the data and come up with a strategy that puts him on top.

They can do it. Barcelona was proof that the Brit and his Silver Arrows crew can outstrategize the Red Bull think tank. Only time will tell if they have it in them for an encore in Abu Dhabi.