ABU DHABI — It is nearly past perception. After 21 races, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton head to the ultimate spherical of the Formulation One championship degree on factors.

It is a outstanding state of affairs that has solely occurred as soon as earlier than in F1’s historical past and it guarantees to offer a spectacular showdown as the 2 finest drivers on the planet go face to face in a winner-takes-all race at Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However as thrilling as that sounds, there are real issues that this unimaginable season can be determined with a collision — or worse nonetheless within the stewards’ workplace.

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Most of these issues stem from final weekend’s semi-farcical Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, wherein positions between the 2 title rivals modified extra off observe than on observe (each actually past the white traces of the circuit at Flip 1 and on account of race management telling Verstappen to offer positions again).

It turned clear throughout that race that Verstappen and Hamilton have very totally different views on the foundations of racing, and that has the potential to create unprecedented controversy in Abu Dhabi if the title is determined by a collision.

Hamilton and Verstappen have made on-track contact on quite a lot of events this yr, however the roots of the present confusion solely stretches again to final month’s Brazilian Grand Prix. On lap 48 of that race, Hamilton tried to go across the exterior of Verstappen just for Verstappen to depart his braking so late that each drivers had no alternative however to drive off the observe. The incident was famous by race management however the stewards determined in opposition to investigating it, which means it was deemed authorized however the stewards didn’t give any reasoning as to why.

On the very least it could possibly be argued that Verstappen gained a bonus by going off observe, and arguably he broke a second rule by failing to depart Hamilton racing room. After the race, Mercedes known as for the stewards to overview the incident when new digicam footage from Verstappen’s automobile turned obtainable, however the identical set of stewards opted in opposition to launching a post-race investigation, and so no clarification for his or her resolution to not penalise Verstappen was forthcoming.

It was maybe no shock, then, that the following time Verstappen and Hamilton have been preventing for place on observe — finally weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix — Verstappen pulled two very related strikes. Each occurred at Flip 1, as soon as on lap 15 at a pink flag restart when Verstappen had briefly misplaced the result in Hamilton and threw his automobile throughout the within of Flip 2 to regain the lead, and once more on lap 37 as Hamilton tried to move across the exterior and Verstappen compelled each drivers off the observe by taking an excessive amount of velocity into Flip 1 to efficiently make the nook. On each events, Hamilton needed to take avoiding motion to forestall a collision.

Within the first occasion, there was the bizarre state of affairs of a second pink flag occurring instantly after, which means the FIA may guarantee Verstappen gave the place again by transferring him behind Hamilton on the grid on the restart that adopted. It appeared like a clumsy alternate over the radio waves on the time, but it surely was in keeping with many earlier examples of race management telling drivers to offer again positions after slicing a nook to realize a bonus — it is simply that this time it occurred below a pink flag forward of a standing restart.

Verstappen was additionally requested to offer a place again after the incident on lap 37, however then issues acquired actually messy as Hamilton hit the rear of Verstappen’s automobile because the Pink Bull slowed to let him by. The stewards later decided that Verstappen hit the brakes unnecessarily arduous in entrance of Hamilton and was predominantly accountable for the collision, leading to a ten-second penalty — though that may be a separate concern to the one mentioned right here.

Instantly after the collision on lap 37, Verstappen drove away from Hamilton with out giving the place again, which means he was then issued with a five-second penalty for the unique Flip 1 incident as he was judged to have “left the observe and gained a bonus”. Verstappen was not pleased about that call after the race and, with a sure logic to his argument, in contrast it to Brazil the place he had additionally left the observe and gained a bonus and never acquired a penalty.

“I discover it attention-grabbing that I’m the one who will get the penalty when each of us ran exterior of the white traces,” Verstappen stated after the race. “In Brazil, it was positive and now all of the sudden I get a penalty for it.

“You can clearly see each did not make the nook, but it surely’s positive. I imply I additionally do not actually [want to] spend an excessive amount of time on it. We’ve to maneuver ahead.

“I stated it earlier on my in-lap [over team radio], I believe these days we’re speaking extra about white traces and penalties than truly correct Formulation One racing and that is, I believe, just a little little bit of a disgrace.”

So right here we’ve got a driver who has taken the shortage of a call from Brazil and used it as a precedent to drive one other automobile off the observe in Saudi Arabia. In fact, Verstappen was additionally the motive force in these incidents who had much less to lose by advantage of his lead within the drivers’ championship and due to this fact may threat a collision with a view to retain that lead, however in his thoughts it appears it was the actual fact he wasn’t penalised in Brazil that allowed him to take that threat.

On account of the incident in Brazil, the drivers have been briefed on the foundations of racing on the Friday of the Qatar Grand Prix. It’s understood the FIA was cautious of claiming the Brazil incident was in opposition to the foundations as it might have opened up extra questions on that call, so it as an alternative made clear that the stewards will deal with every incident by itself deserves, which means that simply because the info of an incident at one circuit noticed a driver power one other off the observe doesn’t imply that each incident the place a driver forces one other off the observe will go unpunished.

To be truthful to FIA race director Michael Masi, he has constantly stated that no two incidents are the identical and each nook on the F1 calendar is totally different, leading to totally different circumstances when two drivers go wheel to wheel. However whereas it is true that the positioning of the automobiles and their speeds relative to at least one one other are by no means going to match up from one incident to a different, the stewards’ job of creating a judgement is way tougher when there aren’t any stable precedents to construct on.

What’s extra, the stewards are way more more likely to discover themselves needing to make judgements on incidents when the 2 drivers preventing for the title — on this case Hamilton and Verstappen — have very totally different interpretations of the foundations and can due to this fact drive in very totally different manners.

Hamilton, who has been driving in Formulation One for 15 years and has seven world titles to his title, stated on Sunday that Verstappen is the one driver in F1 who’s racing to a special algorithm.

“I do not suppose I’ve modified the best way that I race,” he stated. “I believe we’re seeing a number of incidents this yr the place even with Brazil we’re purported to do our racing on observe in between the white traces and the foundations have not been clear from the stewards, that these issues have been allowed, in order that’s continued.

“From my understanding, I do know that I am unable to overtake somebody and go off observe after which maintain the place however I believe that is well-known between all us drivers. However it would not apply to considered one of us, I suppose.”

Nonetheless, Pink Bull crew boss Christian Horner believes an excessive amount of focus has been on his driver when Hamilton has additionally pushed the bounds this yr. One such instance was when he lastly acquired previous Verstappen on lap 44 in Saudi Arabia and ran the Pink Bull large into the run-off space to make sure he couldn’t get again previous on the next straight. That incident was famous by race management, with Masi saying it was “borderline” for a black and white warning flag.

“I might ask you to have a look at Lewis’ incident on the closing nook the place he pushed Max off in the identical manner,” Horner stated on Sunday night. “Any driver that has come by karting or that has raced in any class that’s arduous racing, that is how these youngsters have raced all through their careers. Lewis offers simply as he will get.

“He is very wily with the best way he does it typically. Take a look at the final nook when he ran Max on the market. There was one other nook as properly the place he opened the steering wheel, I believe it was into Turns 1 and a couple of.

“These are two guys which might be preventing over such positive margins proper pushing to the boundary. If you don’t need them to have the power to run large, put a gravel entice on the market.”

Horners reverse quantity, Mercedes crew boss Toto Wolff, hopes the incidents in Saudi Arabia have cleared up a few of the gray areas heading into the ultimate spherical in Abu Dhabi however admits that the foundations are nonetheless imprecise.

“I stated after Brazil that we’re setting a precedent if it is not being investigated that might find yourself being actually ugly for the championship, and you’ve got seen [in Saudi Arabia] they have been just about the identical incidents as Brazil at slower speeds,” he stated. “We do not need to have that in Abu Dhabi. The faster automobile with the faster driver ought to win the championship and never by taking one another off.

“What’s my confidence [in that]? I am unable to let you know as I hope right now’s race [in Saudi Arabia] has sufficient repercussions that everybody’s going to be taught from it and adapt for the ultimate race in Abu Dhabi.

“I believe that related driving, if it have been deemed by the stewards as over the road, could be penalised as properly in Abu Dhabi and that might properly finish in a messy state of affairs for everyone and I do not suppose the championship has deserved a consequence which was affect by a collision.

“So I very a lot in that case belief within the self-regulating system.”

Horner shared these sentiments when requested if Pink Bull cared how Verstappen received the title.

“Sure, in fact we do,” the Pink Bull boss stated. “You need to win it on the observe, not within the stewards’ room, not within the gravel entice.

“It has been a troublesome combat all by the yr. There’s been some implausible racing between these two drivers and I hope that it is a truthful and clear race in Abu Dhabi.”

Though the drivers are degree on factors forward of the ultimate race, Verstappen would win the title on countback of race victories if each drivers fail to complete. Whereas nobody is anticipating him to reap the benefits of that issue by driving Hamilton off the highway on goal, it does imply he can proceed to be aggressive in wheel-to-wheel exchanges understanding that Hamilton can’t afford an accident that takes each drivers out.

Finally no-one desires to see the title determined by a collision or a stewards’ resolution, and the easiest way to forestall that’s for Masi to take a seat each drivers down forward of the race and make it crystal what can be tolerated and what can be penalised.