F1: What To Expect From Verstappen / Hamilton At Abu Dhabi

After what has been a mind-bending season culminating in the two best drivers in F1 tied for points at the end of the penultimate race of the season which was marred in controversy and penalties for championship leader Max Verstappen, that allowed Hamilton to tie him for points. Several things can happen at Abu Dhabi which also isn't a known devil as for the first time since the inception of the race the track has been modified. The modifications to the track have been made to make the racing better, with the removal of some of the slower corners and the addition of banked elements. 

Last year, Red Bull and Verstappen hinted at the impending title challenge for 2021 after dominating the race at Abu Dhabi, but with points level and there being many flashpoints already between Hamilton and the Dutchman, nothing less than fireworks are expected. Not since 1990, a title decider has been so contentious - reminding everyone of Senna and Prost at Suzuka, when the two greatest drivers of the '80s collided at the first corner of the race. So what can we expect? 

Well, Hamilton needs to win this race or at least make sure he scores more points than Verstappen if he wants to win his record-breaking 8th world title. Verstappen doesn't need to score more points than Hamilton as he has more wins so if they both end up tied, he will win the title. With the new aerodynamic rules kicking in next year, a budget cap in place, and a titanic battle this year, many people have doubts if Mercedes can keep up next year.

Many pundits have drawn parallels to Verstappen and Senna and believe he is the most gifted driver on the track 

This perhaps could be Hamilton's last chance at a title-winning shot. Many expect Ferrari and McLaren to be red hot next year alongside Red Bull, so things are going to be harder than ever for Mercedes. Hamilton will be desperate for more points and a race finish. He has already noted this numerous times this year, saying that he has had to avoid crashes with the 24-year-old Dutchman multiple times this year. 

One can expect the hyper-aggressive Dutchman to be quite unrelenting, but considering the spade of penalties he gathered in Jeddah, he may be a wee bit more relenting, but not at the cost of Hamilton gaining more points than him. Perhaps, the best way to measure what to expect from Verstappen can be gauged by his comment on the seminal crash between Senna and Prost in 1990, when the McLaren driver deliberately crashed with his former teammate to win the title and also enacted vengeance for the 1989 title defeat at the same track after Prost ran to the stewards to get the Brazilian disqualified from the race. 

Verstappen asked his then-teammate Pierre Gasly, "What would you have done in this scenario? Who admitted that he would've followed Senna's plan to which the Dutchman responded, "I mean why not?"

So chances of a clash between Hamilton and Verstappen are high considering if both finish outside of the points Verstappen wins the championship. However, in recent races, the Mercedes has been faster, though, in Jeddah, that gap was more or less closed and in qualifying the Red Bull was certainly faster in the hands of the Dutchman. If Verstappen is on the pole it will be interesting to see what Mercedes and Hamilton do, but if Max is behind, one can expect him to be hyper-aggressive like he was in Jeddah.