Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen drama to the end - What to expect from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Hamilton and Verstappen in Abu Dhabi — Photo: © LAT Images

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Hamilton Verstappen drama to the end - What to expect from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Hamilton and Verstappen will showdown in the season-finale

Ewan Gale

Thursday 9 December 2021 16:20

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The F1 season has reached its final stanza with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen set for a title showdown for the ages in Abu Dhabi.

Can you believe we are at the end of another F1 season?

What a season we have been treated to with Verstappen and Hamilton pushing the boundaries all year long with scintillating drive after scintillating drive.

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After so many twists and turns, it all comes down to the final race of the season with both drivers level on 369.5 points. Verstappen holds the advantage courtesy of a race win more than his rival, but the goal for both is simple.

Finish ahead of your rival and become the 2021 champion.

Here is what to expect from a tantalising Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton Verstappen drama to the end

With the campaign being taken to such highs over the first 21 races, it seems unimaginable we could have anything but drama in the final race of the year.

Neither contender can afford to allow an opportunity to get past slip by in such a tight fight, yet only one, Verstappen, can afford race-ending contact.

Hopefully, the title won't be decided in a mangled mess somewhere out in the Abu Dhabi run-off areas, but it is something that shouldn't be discounted, especially after the shenanigans in Saudi Arabia.

As a result of the aforementioned shenanigans, FIA race director Michael Masi has reminded drivers through his notes of the full range of sanctions available in the FIA sporting code, which include points deductions and outright disqualification.

Anything other than a Hamilton and Verstappen front-row lockout would be a shock given their recent form, setting up a mouth-watering first lap in the Middle Eastern twilight.

After that, it all comes down to the driving talent and team strategy. Verstappen holds the slight advantage, will he become the first-ever Dutch world champion?

Bottas and Perez to play important roles

The second driver at each team WILL play important role in deciding the destination of the drivers' title.

Second-row qualifying is essential for both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez in order to assist the championship combatants.

Should either be able to complete a front-row lockout for their team, that outfit would well and truly hold the championship advantage going into the race on Sunday.

Equally as important is strategy and staying within 20-seconds of the likely leaders to create chaos during the pit window or to take advantage of a safety car.

Bottas has looked the most likely to help out Hamilton in recent races but three podiums in a row not so long ago prove Perez can be just as much of a nuisance.

Mercedes champions again

Whilst the drivers' battle is as close as it could possibly be, the constructors' championship was all but sewn-up last weekend with a Mercedes double-podium coupled with Perez's retirement.

That gives the Silver Arrows a 28 point lead over Red Bull, with a catastrophe the only way that difference will be overturned.

If the team does seal the deal, it would be an unprecedented eighth team's triumph in a row for the Brackley and Brixworth based outfit, with this being the toughest of them all.

New layout to spice up finale

Despite always providing a brilliant visual spectacle, the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has often lacked in on-track action and in a bid to remedy races devoid of overtaking, the circuit has undergone a reprofiling.

Gone is the tiny chicane ahead of the hairpin at the end of the first sector, with a sweeping banked left-hander added in place in a big to increase speeds and allow closer action down the long back straight.

A similar move has been made at the end of the second straight, with another banked corner added to take drivers straight to the final sector under the hotel.

The 90-degree corners through that section have been opened up slightly in the hope cars will be able to follow closer. Hopefully, the changes will work.

Raikkonen says farewell

After a stunning career, 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen says farewell to the sport he has loved and, more importantly, a sport that has loved him.

Whilst the final few years of a stellar run in F1 have been out of the limelight at Alfa Romeo, there have been glimpses of the old Kimi shining through whether it be in qualifying or the race.

Perhaps it is fitting the final race comes at the scene of one of the most memorable Raikkonen moments in F1: "Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing".

Thank you Kimi.