State of Play Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
By Oli Dickson Jefford
After 21 races of thrilling racing, drama - and a decent helping of controversy - it all comes down to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have delivered one of the most thrilling F1 title races in the series’ history from start to finish in 2021.
It’s been a battle up there with those between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill, and Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
Things could not be more evenly poised with both men even on points, with both the Drivers and Constructors Championships up for grabs at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Ahead of one of the most highly-anticipated weekends in F1 history, we take a look at the state of play heading into Abu Dhabi.
Driver Standings: Verstappen holds tiniest of advantages
For just the second time in F1 and first time in 47 years, two drivers are level on points in the title race ahead of the final race of the season.
In 1974, Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni were level heading into the US Grand Prix and it was Fittipaldi who won his second world title, finishing fourth while Regazzoni fell down the field and finished in 11th.
This year Hamilton and Verstappen go in level on 369.5 points each, though it is the Dutchman who currently tops the standings.
That’s because he has won nine races this season while Hamilton has won eight times, with race wins the first method of countback if drivers are level.
That means that should neither man finish inside the top ten and earn a point, it would be the 24-year-old who claims his first world title.
There have been times in the past - most notably Senna on Prost in 1990, and Schumacher on Hill four years later - where one driver has seemingly wiped out another to secure championship victory.
Drivers are less likely to get away with that today after Schumacher tried and failed a similar manoeuvre on Jacques Villeneuve in 1997 and was disqualified from the championship, though it will be interesting to see if there are any duels between the two this weekend.
Constructor Standings: Mercedes hold edge over Red Bull
It is also a Mercedes v Red Bull duel in the Constructors Championship battle which will be decided this weekend, though Mercedes hold a significant advantage here.
Hamilton’s victory in Saudi Arabia and Valtteri Bottas’ third-place finish meant Mercedes extended their lead over Red Bull, who had Verstappen finish in second but Sergio Perez fail to finish.
Mercedes sit on 587.5 points while Red Bull sit on 559.5 points, meaning that decent placings for Hamilton and Bottas would be enough to seal a eighth straight victory for Toto Wolff’s team no matter how well Verstappen and Perez perform.
What else is there to play for?
Attention naturally sits on main protagonists Mercedes and Red Bull, but title battles aside there are other mini-battles heading into the final race.
After a disappointing 2020 campaign, Ferrari have looked fairly strong this season and hold a comfortable advantage over McLaren in third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Ferrari sit on 307 points while McLaren sit on 269, with Alpine sitting in fifth with 149 points - ahead of AlphaTauri on 120 points.
Behind the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers it is the Ferrari and McLaren drivers that occupy the next spots in the Drivers' Championship.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sits in fifth on 158 points, having recently usurped McLaren’s Lando Norris who sits six with 154 points.
Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz is not far behind, sitting in seventh with 149.5 points, while Daniel Ricciardo sits in eighth place - though only on 115 points.
The rest of the top 10 is rounded out but AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who has reached 100 points for the first time in his career, and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
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