‘People will remember this year’ - F1 title rivals set for epic finale

For Verstappen, it would mark a maiden world title and a changing of the guard moment in F1 on the eve of a major regulation change following years of supremacy at the top for Hamilton and his Mercedes team. 

Victory for Hamilton would see him move out on his own as the most successful driver ever to race in the sport with an unprecedented eighth world championship to add to the achievements he already holds for most grand prix wins and pole positions. A fifth successive title would see Hamilton surpass the record he currently shares with the great Michael Schumacher. 

Verstappen and Hamilton are locked together on 369.5 points going into the winner-takes-all showdown. The mathematics are simple; whoever finishes ahead will be crowned world champion. 

Regardless of whichever way destiny swings, both drivers know 2021 will go down as being one of the greatest-ever conclusions to an F1 world championship following an extraordinary season that will be talked about for decades to come. 

"Lewis has won already so many championships," Verstappen said. "But this year we have been pushing each other, certainly in some races, to the limit.

"We have been trying to get everything out of cars to the last lap, to the last corner and that's very exciting, especially when it is between two different teams.

"It has been really enjoyable, for most of the time. But that's normal in a championship. Of course, in 10-20 years' time people will look back at it, even myself, and remember this year for sure."

“Well said,” Hamilton responded. “I agree fully. It’s been an incredible year, an amazing battle and I’m grateful that I’ve had such a close battle with Max and his team. 

“I think they’ve done an exceptional job and shown true strength and so it’s pushed us to the limit in ways that we needed and we, I think, have grown stronger as a team in ways we didn’t know that we could grow. 

“Yeah, it’s been amazing. I hope that we have many more seasons like this.” 

Tensions have boiled over between the championship protagonists on track at times this year but the mutual respect appears to remain intact, at least in this shared cordial moment in the press conference after Verstappen had beaten Hamilton to a crucial pole position with one of the laps of the season. 

Whether that will continue in the race remains to be seen after several collisions throughout the year, including multiple clashes in last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that led to Verstappen receiving two penalties. 

Hamilton must beat Verstappen on track in order to win the title, while the Red Bull driver knows that a race-ending crash for the pair would ensure he triumphs on count back by virtue of having nine wins to Hamilton’s eight. 

Both were reminded by FIA race director Michael Masi ahead of the weekend that any unsporting behaviour could be met with a possible points deduction. 

Such a situation would be a sour way for the season to end and tarnish an otherwise classic campaign that has seen these two titans of the sport push each other to reach new levels of performance.

With Verstappen and Hamilton starting on different tyre compounds having opted for alternative strategies, Sunday’s title decider is perfectly poised to be a fascinating and dramatic finale.

“It's 1-0 for [Red Bull],” conceded Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after qualifying. “They got the tyres in the perfect window in the last run. The tow [that Sergio Perez gave Verstappen] functioned flawlessly and that's why they're on pole.

“From P2, I'd much rather be starting on the medium,” he added. “We will have a slight disadvantage on the start I guess, and the first six, seven laps, if he [Verstappen] drives fast.

“If he manages [his pace] then that's not a big advantage for [Red Bull], but we can go longer; we can go for an aggressive undercut also and try to control track position. So overnight we will be running lots of programmes and algorithms.”

After everything that has happened over the last nine months, it all comes down to 58-laps to settle the score between two drivers who are both so deserving of the biggest prize in motorsport. May the best man win.