Permutations make title prediction impossible.

In just a couple of days, the GP2 Series should be crowning its first ever drivers' champion but, with Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen arriving in Bahrain separated by just three points, and with a complicated scoring system offering endless permutations, predicting a winner is difficult.

Come the end of the first day of racing, either driver could hold an unassailable lead in the championship, but the season is more likely to go down to the wire, with the pair still split by a small margin heading into the finale on Friday.

In just a couple of days, the GP2 Series should be crowning its first ever drivers' champion but, with Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen arriving in Bahrain separated by just three points, and with a complicated scoring system offering endless permutations, predicting a winner is difficult.

Come the end of the first day of racing, either driver could hold an unassailable lead in the championship, but the season is more likely to go down to the wire, with the pair still split by a small margin heading into the finale on Friday.

Essentially, the championship battle boils down to two simple statements. Firstly, if the results of race one see Rosberg hold an advantage of nine points or more over his only remaining rival, the German will be champion. Conversely, if the results see Kovalainen hold an advantage of eight points or more, the Finn will win.

However, the possibilities of each driver achieving such a lead depend not only on race results, but on the two points for fastest lap and pole position. In race two, scheduled for Friday lunchtime, a maximum of eight points remain available, meaning that, for Rosberg, a nine point advantage after race one will be sufficient for glory. Kovalainen, however, needs only to finish the season on equal points with his rival, as his win tally is greater at 5-3.

Should Rosberg match the five wins already recorded by the Arden driver, his points haul would be unbeatable, so this factor only comes in to play on a level-points situation. Thus, should Kovalainen lead Rosberg by eight points after Thursday's feature race, it is the Finn who would be champion.

With points awarded to the top eight finishers, as well as for pole and fastest lap, a full explanation of how things could pan out in race one would take up more page space than a mathematics thesis, but, if Rosberg should land a full house of pole, fastest lap and the win in race one, he would have a total of 116 points and be crowned champion, regardless of where Kovalainen finishes. Even if the Finn follows the ART driver home in second place, Rosberg would hold an unbeatable nine-point advantage.

If Rosberg takes pole position and the win in race one, but misses out on fastest lap, he will have a total of 114 points, and can only be crowned champion if Kovalainen finishes third or lower - without setting fastest lap. Should the Finn grab the two-point fastest lap bonus, however, Rosberg can still be champion if Kovalainen finishes fifth or lower.

If Rosberg misses out on pole and fastest lap but still wins race one, he will have 112 points and will be crowned champion if Heikki finishes fifth or lower without fastest lap. Should Kovalainen land fastest lap, Rosberg will still be champion if the Finn finishes seventh or lower. The situation is the same if Kovalainen takes pole but not fastest lap. However, if he takes pole and fastest lap, but Nico wins race one, the Finn must score at least a point in order to take the battle down to the final race.

If Rosberg merely takes pole position in Thursday's two qualifying sessions, Kovalainen cannot win the title in race one. However, if the Finn takes pole, fastest lap and the win in Thursday's event, he will have a total of 113 points, and can be champion if Rosberg finishes sixth or lower. Pole and the win will give Kovalainen 111 points and, if Rosberg finishes eighth or lower, without taking fastest lap, the Arden man will be champion. If Rosberg does take fastest lap, however, the battle continues to the last race.

If Kovalainen misses out on pole and fastest lap, but secures the first race win, the title will be decided in the final event regardless of whether Rosberg scores a single point, as the former's tally of 109 is just seven points more than the German takes into the weekend.

And that doesn't take into account the hopes and aspirations of 22 other drivers, many keen to secure their first series win and impress potential employers before the year is out...

Confused? Chances are, you will be.....

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