Max Verstappen - The road to Champion

[Nitrodaze]

The fiesty young challenger goes into the last race of the season seeing his handsome 25 points lead evaporate over the last three races. Each of those three races was dotted with controversy. And the last race saw him come under enormous criticism from even his good friends in the media. With barely a week to process all of it, he heads into Abu Dhabi with a slender advantage of having the most wins. But that only matters if both himself and Hamilton have a DNF. Otherwise, he has to win the race somehow.

Based on the pace of the Mercedes at Jeddah, we could chance a guess that Mercedes might be strong at Yas Marina. But the pace of the Redbull was not shabby either. So it is not outside the realms of possibility that Verstappen wins the race. But what are the odds of this happening, l ask?

Does Mercedes still have enough fresh engines to trouble Redbull? If not, are the engine available to Mercedes with enough life to make it to the end of the race? The Mercedes engine has shown that it may have a short life compared to the Honda engine. Hence, could engine failure play a part in determining who wins the title?

The flip side is the ominous potential a fresh enough engine in Hamilton's hands. The prospect of that means it may be an uphill battle for Redbull and Verstappen. But we have seen some truly brilliant drives from Verstappen. If he wants to be a world champion, he would have to dig deep and produce something extraordinary to beat Hamilton on Sunday. If he could do that, he would be one of the most celebrated drivers of this era of F1 racing. The interesting thing is that he has that capability in him. He is capable of producing Sennaesque drives when he is in the zone.

That said he is going up against one of the most formidable racers in F1 history. The dangerous thing about this duel is that Hamilton is still as hungry as ever to win. Hence it would not be easy at all if Mercedes do their usual great preparation for the race. And Hamilton turns up with his A-game. Also, anything is possible during the race. From strategic errors to car damage from midfield drivers while lapping them. There is also the explosive battle between Verstappen and Hamilton which could end in tears for both or one of them.

Hence, it is not quite so clear who would win the 2021 driver's championship.

[denkimi]

Otherwise, he has to win the race somehow.

neither of them has to win the race, they just need to end in front of the other and within top 10.

but is suspect one of them is going to win anyway.

[Firstgear]

neither of them has to win the race, they just need to end in front of the other and within top 10.

but is suspect one of them is going to win anyway.

Actually Max doesn't even need to do that much. If Lewis is out of the points, Max doesn't even need to finish.
But I agree with your second sentence.

[Nitrodaze]

neither of them has to win the race, they just need to end in front of the other and within top 10.

but is suspect one of them is going to win anyway.

I agree, mathematically, one has to finish ahead of the other in the top eight, taking bonus point for fastest lap into consideration.

[Nitrodaze]

Verstappen stares at the possibility of a first F1 driver's title as a non-fictional reality. He would seat at the front of the grid into the open tarmac ahead and wish it would be unhindered until the finish flag is waved. It would be an unbearably long race and one he has to keep his wits about him at all points through the long race.

It is exciting that we take this journey with him. He is actually the underdog and we all route for him when he is well behaved.

[The Black Knight]

Verstappen stares at the possibility of a first F1 driver's title as a non-fictional reality. He would seat at the front of the grid into the open tarmac ahead and wish it would be unhindered until the finish flag is waved. It would be an unbearably long race and one he has to keep his wits about him at all points through the long race.

It is exciting that we take this journey with him. He is actually the underdog and we all route for him when he is well behaved.

When he is well behaved but I would prefer a driver not be champion in a year where he drove like he did in Jeddah. We'll see later but I think losing the championship today would be better for him in the long run, it'd give him something to think about or he'll only end up like Vettel.

[F1nKS]

Congrats Max!

[Zico]

Yep, congrats Max!

[Nitrodaze]

When he is well behaved but I would prefer a driver not be champion in a year where he drove like he did in Jeddah. We'll see later but I think losing the championship today would be better for him in the long run, it'd give him something to think about or he'll only end up like Vettel.

There is having a chance and there is converting it into a great result. And Verstappen did that today with a lot of low hanging fruit his way.

CONGRATULATION MAX VERSTAPPEN

[The Black Knight]

There is having a chance and there is converting it into a great result. And Verstappen did that today with a lot of low hanging fruit his way.

CONGRATULATION MAX VERSTAPPEN

Nah this championship was decided in the stewards room.