Tied, Hamilton and Verstappen decide their F1 title not heads up

The English Lewis Hamilton, 36, and the Dutchman Max Verstappen, 24, arrive tied with 369.5 points to the last stage of 2021 year of F1, this Sunday (12). The Yas Marina circuit, in Abu Dhabi, will be the stage for the big decision of the world championship — the race will start at 10:00 am (GMT) and will be broadcast by the Band.

In qualifying, Verstappen performed better. With 1min22s109, he closed the fastest lap of the UAE circuit and took pole position. Hamilton was second, 0s371 slower than his rival, and hopes to overtake him by completing the decisive 58 laps of the season.

Among the possibilities for defining the competition there is one that worries the Mercedes and Red Bull teams, especially the German team. If neither driver scores, either by finishing below tenth place or by failing to complete the race, Verstappen will win the championship.

This scenario causes tension in the FIA ​​(International Automobile Federation), which fears to see a controversial decision, caused by an accident. F1 has experienced situations of this type in the past, for example in disputes involving Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Because of this, the entity that regulates motor sport has already warned that it will be able to take points away from those who try to define the title with an attitude contrary to sports ethics.

Allowing that would be a blemish on one of the fiercest F1 championships of recent years. This is only the second time in the history of the category that two drivers have reached the final race tied.

Until today, the scenario was only observed in the 1974 Worlds, in the season in which Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni went to Watkins Glen, in the United States, with 52 points each. The Brazilian driver finished the race in fourth, against an 11th place by the Swiss, and won the bi-championship.

“I can see the pressure they will have. Every one of them: Lewis, Max, the teams, the family, the sponsors, even the fans. It’s tremendous pressure to go into the last race with equal points,” the Brazilian told the version Dutch from the Motorsport.com website.

For the two-time champion, the two candidates for this year’s title will have a separate race. “It will be like a duel against each other. Everyone else who will be there will just be watching what happens. But the race will be between the two of them. I can imagine how anxious they will be.”

Fittipaldi recalls that tension consumed him on the eve of the race in which he won the 1974 title. He says he only slept for three hours over the night before the race.

For the Brazilian, Hamilton and Verstappen must be even more nervous than he was because they cultivated a strong rivalry throughout the season. “Clay and I didn’t have all this rivalry. There was a mutual respect between us.”

At the time, Fittipaldi got an advantage over his opponent in qualifying. He started in eighth, one position ahead of the Swiss. Argentine Carlos Alberto Reutemann started first and won the race, but the party that day belonged to the Brazilian.

Drivers bet on Verstappen title

Max Verstappen leads the bets among the drivers on the grid. The official F1 website questioned 11 runners who are not directly involved in the title fight about the favorite to win the championship, and the Dutchman won the vote.

Five of them, Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) and Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) think pole position will be champion.

“In a way, this is my opinion: Mercedes deserves the constructors’ championship because the car is superior, and Max, maybe overall for the year, was one step ahead of everyone else,” said Alonso.

German Vettel said he has a good relationship with Hamilton, but doesn’t want to see him leave another German, Michael Schumacher, behind in number of titles — each has seven.

“My heart says I want Max to win to keep Michael’s record alive, but my head is very clear. May the best man win,” he said.

Another five drivers said they were undecided or chose not to give their opinion: Mick Schumacher (Haas), Nikita Mazepin (Haas), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).

Only Englishman George Russell, from Williams, who will be Hamilton’s teammate in Mercedes from 2022, chose his compatriot.

“I would love to see Lewis win. I think what he’s accomplished, especially recently, is pretty outstanding, even being in the fight when Red Bull had such a superior car earlier this year,” Russell said.