How can the F1 world championship title be won in Abu Dhabi in 2021?

After 21 races in a blockbuster F1 season, Verstappen and Hamilton are still inseparable and enter the Abu Dhabi title decision with 269.5 points, with a maximum of 26 points remaining.

It is the first final race title decision by F1 since 2016. It is remarkable that it is only the second time in the last 47 years that two championship protagonists have tied on the grid.

The last time this was in 1974, when Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni were tied with 52 points at the start of the US Grand Prix. McLaren’s Fittipaldi finally prevailed with a fourth place in his second world championship after Regazzoni finished 11th.

Verstappen is aiming for a historic first world title to become the first non-Mercedes champion since 2013, while Hamilton has the chance to claim an unprecedented eighth world title.

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Such an accomplishment would break the record that Hamilton currently shares with Michael Schumacher and extend his reign at the top of the sport to five years in a row.

Simply put, whoever wins or crosses the finish line before the other driver becomes world champion.

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The bonus point for the fastest lap does not affect the outcome of the World Championship, unless Hamilton and Verstappen are ninth and tenth and Verstappen holds the fastest lap.

This is the only scenario where one driver can win the world title by ending up behind the other, with both of them in the top 10.

That’s because Verstappen comes out victorious either way, having won nine races compared to Hamilton’s eight.

Verstappen’s count-back advantage also increases the chances of winning the title in potentially controversial circumstances, as the Red Bull driver could afford a collision with Hamilton at the end of the race.

But in a clean, straight fight, the rider who outperforms the other will ultimately triumph.

Meanwhile, Mercedes is entering the final lap in the constructors’ championship with a relatively comfortable 28-point lead over Red Bull, thanks to the 1-3 result in Saudi Arabia.

With a total of 44 available points, Mercedes will win the eighth consecutive world title and hold its unbeaten record since 2014 if Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas together score at least 17 points.

Red Bull has the best chance to catch up with a 1-2 finish and even then it could still be missing if Mercedes scores with both cars.

There was only a single 1-2 result all season and it was not matched by either of F1’s two top teams.

All of the stats from this season suggest that the odds for Mercedes are heavily stacked, especially considering the weekend is on his side with momentum after a hat-trick of wins for Hamilton.

Red Bull dominated last year’s season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit, but the course has since been redesigned to increase the overtaking opportunities for this year’s flagship event.