The battle for the 2021 Formula One World Championship between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen continues into the final two races of the season, and Mika Hakkinen is looking forward to it going down to the wire.
If the title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton gets to the wire, Mika Hakkinen admits it will be a “amazing” finale to the 2021 Formula One season.
Verstappen presently leads Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings by eight points with two races remaining. While it is mathematically possible for Verstappen to win the World Championship in the next race in Saudi Arabia, something Hamilton will not be able to do, it appears more likely that the title will be decided at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In fact, there’s a good chance both drivers will finish the race on the same number of points, which Hakkinen is looking forward to.
“If Lewis wins again in Saudi Arabia and sets fastest lap, with Max finishing second – a strong possibility – the two drivers would go to the final round of the World Championship on equal points,” Hakkinen wrote in his column.
“It would be an extraordinary end to what has been an amazingly close season.”
Jeddah could favour Hamilton
Although Verstappen is still leading the title, Hamilton has been in excellent form recently. Over the course of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, the Mercedes driver raced through the field in Sprint Qualifying before winning the main race.
This was followed by a victory at the Qatar Grand Prix a week later, and Hakkinen believes Hamilton will be favored again at the next race in Jeddah.
“We now head to Saudi Arabia for the penultimate Grand Prix of the season. With Max only eight points in front of Lewis, and Mercedes five points ahead of Red Bull in the teams’ championship, both championships could swing either way,” the two-time F1 World Champion said.
“Max could even win the World Championship in Jeddah if Lewis has a bad result.
“But on a circuit that seems to favour cars with good straight-line speed, and Mercedes planning to use the ‘Brazil engine’ in Lewis’s car, the defending champion will be looking for nothing less than a win.”
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