The 2020 F1 season has been a campaign like no other and although the Drivers’ Championship was clinched by Lewis Hamilton with three races to spare in Turkey, there is no shortage of intrigue for the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Much of the interest centres around whether Hamilton himself will be able to sign off his seventh championship-winning season in style. He missed last week’s dramatic Sakhir Grand Prix following a positive Covid-19 test, and Mercedes say they may not make a final decision on whether he will participate this week until Saturday morning.
Whether or not the Brit is able to reclaim his seat, there are battles up and down the grid to savour.
Mercedes Line-up Crucial to the Betting Markets
Many betting markets on the race will be hard to assess properly until we know for sure if Hamilton will be racing at the Yas Marina Circuit.
If he is not cleared to take part in the event, fellow British driver George Russell is set to replace him again.
Russell looked on course to claim his first F1 win in fairytale fashion when stepping up from Williams to replace Hamilton in the second Bahrain event. He qualified second to team-mate Valtteri Bottas but drove superbly on the Sunday, taking the lead at the start.
However, the races of both Mercedes drivers were ruined by a disastrous pit-stop blunder which saw the team fitting tyres meant for Bottas on Russell’s car.
Some small consolation for Russell was that the three points he gained for ninth place and setting the fastest lap were his first F1 points.
Russell did enough to suggest that he will claim a Mercedes seat in 2022 at the latest – and there is growing pressure for the team to find a way to get him in the car in 2021 if Bottas does not raise his game. So the stakes will be high if they line up alongside each other again.
Battle for Best of the Rest in the Balance
Two scraps to be best of the rest will be concluded on Sunday. Bottas leads Max Verstappen by 16 points in the battle for the runner-up spot. Verstappen made an early exit in Sakhir after qualifying third, so Bottas actually enhanced his chances of second place by coming eighth.
Third place in the constructors’ standings is also up for grabs with Racing Point now in great shape to claim the bronze medal thanks to Sergio Perez’s victory in Sakhir with Lance Stroll third.
The Pink Panthers should go well again at Abu Dhabi but they face a real threat from the McLarens of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, who are just ten points behind.
Renault are 22 points behind Racing Point despite Esteban Ocon’s second place in Sakhir, but all three teams should be lively contenders in the finale and any non-finishes could have a major effect on their scrap for third.
More Abu Dhabi Domination For Mercedes?
Mercedes have won the last six Abu Dhabi races, four through Hamilton, but Nico Rosberg was victorious in 2015 and Bottas won from pole there in 2017.
Hamilton also won at the track for McLaren in 2011 and their dominance in 2020 means they will surely be confident of adding to their tally on Sunday.