When our family visited Dubai a few years ago, one trip that we failed to do was to visit its neighbor Abu Dhabi.
Located 140 kms. apart, the two cities of the United Arab Emirates are in the limelight today. For Dubai, it’s the much-awaited Dubai Expo. It was supposed to open last year but, no thanks to Covid-19, it’s now happening and will run until March 2022.
For Abu Dhabi, all eyes will be on the Grand Prix. It’s scheduled at 9 P.M. tonight (Phil. time) and, after 21 races that started in Bahrain last March, it has come down to tonight: LH vs. MV.
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is British. He’ll turn 37 next month and is the 7-time F1 world champion. The Mercedes driver holds several records: most podium finishes (181), most pole positions (103), and most wins (103).
Max Emilian Verstappen is 24 and hails from Belgium. He represents Red Bull Racing but he has yet to win a world title. His claim to fame was back in 2015 when he became the youngest driver in F1 history to race (17 years old).
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the last race of 2021. What makes this special is that Hamilton and Verstappen are tied at the leaderboard—369.5 points each.
Whoever wins or scores higher tonight claims the world title. It’s either a record-breaking eighth for Lewis or a first for Max. (If they end up tied, it’s the Belgian who’ll claim the trophy because he has nine wins versus the eight of Lewis.)
“This finale is the stuff of Hollywood filmmakers’ dreams,” wrote ESPN F1 Associate Editor Nate Saunders in his recent ESPN article. “It will either be a passing of the torch moment or an achievement F1 has never seen before. It’s the classic tale of two generations clashing.”
On the word “clashing,” no word is more appropriate. They have figuratively and literally crashed. They crashed at least thrice this season: at the British Grand Prix, at the Italian Grand Prix last September and, just last week, in Saudi Arabia when Verstappen stopped without warning and Hamilton slammed into his rear end. The 7-time champ called his rival “crazy” and said that F1’s rules don’t apply to the Belgian.
To rival the rivalry of the drivers is the animosity of their bosses. For Mercedes, it’s Toto Wolff and for Red Bull, it’s Christian Horner. The two have openly expressed their disdain for each other.
Which leads us to tonight in Abu Dhabi. It’s the fifth race—spanning three continents—in just six weeks. It’s a winner-take-all. It’s the first time since 1974 where two drivers are tied heading to the finale.
Who’s favored? It’s important to remember that, since 2015, whoever sits in pole position has won in Yas Marina.
Speaking of momentum, it’s on Hamilton; he’s won the last three races (Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia). But the defending Abu Dhabi champ? It’s Verstappen.
Nikita Mazepin (of Haas) gave the safest answer when asked to choose: “I think experience, in that respect… Lewis has the upper hand… But Max, a new face as well—I really like them both, as humans, as athletes, as racing drivers as well. So don’t make me (choose)!”