(Abu Dhabi) This is the epilogue of an exciting mano a mano: perfectly tied before the last Grand Prix of the season, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen engage in a final duel from Friday to Sunday in Abu Dhabi, with for the title of Formula 1 world champion is at stake.
For the Briton from Mercedes, at 36, it would be the eighth crown and an absolute record, with one more crown than Michael Schumacher. For the Dutchman from Red Bull, 24, it would be the first; and the first time since 2014 that Mercedes would not put one of its drivers in the first place.
For the 30e times since the creation of the championship in 1950, the title is decided in the final race. But this is only the second time, after 1974, that the last two rivals are tied on points, 369.5 precisely after 21 Grands Prix.
Hamilton, who has clinched three wins in the last three sets, has the trend for him. But Verstappen has another advantage: his nine Grand Prix victories this year against eight for the Briton.
If one scores more points than the other on Sunday, he will be champion. But if they end up tied (if one ranks 9e and the other 10e with the fastest lap, either two points each, or none of them scoring points, by finishing out of the top 10 or by giving up), the Dutchman will be crowned with his most victories.
As the end of the season approached, their brawls got more and more bitter, culminating last week in Saudi Arabia with two contentious overtakes and a crash for which “Mad Max” was sanctioned.
PHOTO KAMRAN JEBREILI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Max Verstappen
“It’s going to be rough”
Therefore, many are asking the question: will the Red Bull driver be tempted to eliminate his rival rather than beating him loyally?
“It’s going to be tough, no one will want to give up an inch,” predicts F1 sporting director Ross Brawn. “But we want a competition, we don’t want a red line to be crossed. We do not want this championship to be decided by the decisions of the race marshals and that it ends in the court of appeal or elsewhere. He must finish on the track in Abu Dhabi with the best driver who wins. ”
The Yas Marina track was a private preserve of Mercedes until last year, with six poles and six victories between 2014 and 2019. In 2020, Verstappen surprised by taking the top position and first place in the final.
However, “last year is not necessarily a good benchmark in terms of result because many factors have contributed”, starting with the restricted engines of Mercedes and a Hamilton recovering from COVID-19, recalls the Dutchman .
That said, his Red Bull 2021 is much better than last year.
Another uncertainty is added this year: the route has been changed. The track is faster, which should benefit Mercedes, but it should also be more conducive to overtaking, which cannot displease Red Bull.
Mercedes favorite among manufacturers
The constructors’ title will also be awarded on Sunday. Mercedes are favorites with 28 points ahead and a maximum of 44 still available. But, in the event of a perfect tie, Red Bull would win in terms of the number of victories, ending the long reign of its rival, which also began in 2014.
The rest of this ranking (which determines the commercial income received by the teams) should hardly change, with Alpine almost guaranteed to take fifth place, behind Ferrari and McLaren, but ahead of AlphaTauri.
Among the drivers, the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) and the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), lieutenants of Hamilton and Verstappen, are sure to finish logically third and fourth.
The fight for fifth place is, however, open between Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) and Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari), separated by 8.5 points.
Finally, F1 bids farewell this weekend to the Finnish Kimi Räikkönen, who retires at 42, after 19 seasons and a world title with Ferrari (2007).
His Italian teammate Antonio Giovinazzi is also leaving Alfa Romeo for Formula E.
Note also Bottas’ last race for Mercedes before joining Alfa Romeo, and that of Briton George Russell at Williams before replacing the Finn in the other Silver Arrow.