Max verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis hamilton (Mercedes) face the final stretch of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship under pressure. One because he defends the leadership and because at 24 years old and after seven seasons in the World Cup, he caresses for the first time the dream of being a champion. And the other because after his exceptional comeback in the general classification, he has resurfaced as the ‘Phoenix’ and now sees more than possible to take his eighth crown, surpassing the historic record of titles that he shares with Michael Schumacher.
Verstappen leads the championship with 351.5 points, 8 more than Hamilton. After his two consecutive victories in Austin and Mexico, the Dutchman had 19 points compared to the Briton, who has turned the situation around thanks to his two wins in Qatar and Brazil. By now, both are aware that they have no margin for error in the last two appointments on the calendar, Saudi Arabia, which opens this year in Formula 1, and the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, the usual scene at the farewell. it’s from the season.
“I’ll try to do my best and we’ll see where we end up” Max assumes before his debut on an unprecedented circuit for all the drivers: “I have driven at the Jeddah circuit in the simulator and it seems like a very fast track, so you can’t miss Of course there are always some doubts as we haven’t really driven on the track yet, it’s going to be interesting and I’m looking forward to this challenge. It’s been fun going to different circuits again this year, “he says. Verstappen , who tries to maintain his usual cool blood even at the most momentous moment of his sporting career: “I feel calm. In Qatar we lacked a bit of rhythm compared to Mercedes, so we will see how this weekend goes. Nothing is decided yet and we are all up for the challenge. There are two races ahead and we are going to give it our all, that’s for sure. It’s going to be an exciting season finale, “he promises.
For his part Hamilton acknowledges that his last two wins have given him a break: “It’s been a hell of a year, so getting to this point in the season and getting two wins in a row is a great feeling. We needed those points, the team did a really solid job. “It is incredible to have been able to reduce the gap so much in the last two weeks. We still have work to do, but we love this very close fight and the challenge it presents. We are in a good position for the next two races.”
Heading into the unknown
Although it is most likely that the most intense World Championship in recent F1 history will come ‘alive’ to the last race in Abu Dhabi (12 December), it could be decided in advance in Saudi Arabia, since this weekend Verstappen has his first ‘match ball’ for the title.
The Jeddah track, where infrastructure refurbishment work continues until the last minute, has very little to do with a classic street circuit. Designed by F1’s leading architect Hermann Tilke, it is situated on a branch of the seafront and is set to become the longest (6,174 meters) and fastest circuit (an average of more than 250 km has been calculated / h) among those of this urban style.
In view of the data obtained in the simulator, it requires very unloaded single-seaters in terms of aerodynamics, in search of a high top speed (at turn 27 the car will reach more than 317 km / h for a deceleration of more than 200 km / h). h with a force of 4.3 g). There are two large loopholes, while the rest of the route is delimited by walls, so there is no margin for error.