If Haas fail to score points in the 2019 Formula 1 season finale at Yas Marina Circuit, they would make history in a very weird way.
The 21st and final race weekend of the 2019 Formula 1 season is upon us in Abu Dhabi, as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is scheduled to close out the season for the sixth consecutive year and the eighth year overall since Yas Marina Circuit was added to the schedule in 2009.
The season has seen its highs and lows for several teams, and Haas have been among the teams for which the 2019 season has been a major disappointment.
After finishing in an all-time high fifth place in the 2018 constructor standings in what was only their third season of competition, the sport’s lone American outfit currently find themselves ahead of only lowly Williams in this year’s standings with just one race remaining, and there is little to no hope that they will move from the ninth position.
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Kevin Magnussen has scored points in four races this season while Romain Grosjean has done so in three. Magnussen’s top finish is his sixth place finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit while Grosjean’s best result is his seventh place finish in the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring.
Magnussen sits in 16th place in the driver standings with 20 points while Grosjean sits in 18th with eight. Neither driver has scored a point in the last four races, with Magnussen’s ninth place effort in the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodromo being the most recent top 10 finish for the team. Grosjean is on a nine-race scoreless streak following his season-best result in Germany.
Magnussen qualified for the 55-lap race around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) Yas Marina Circuit road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 15th place ahead of Grosjean in 16th.
If neither driver manages to finish in the top 10 and score points, it would mark the first time in Formula 1 history that a pair of teammates finish with point totals that match their car numbers; Magnussen drives the #20 Ferrari-powered VF-19 and Grosjean drives the #8 Ferrari-powered VF-19.
Single drivers have matched car numbers with their point totals before. In fact, Grosjean did it with his eight-point season driving for Lotus in 2014. Marcus Ericsson was the last to do it with his nine-point season driving for Alfa Romeo Sauber in 2018.
But never has it happened in the same season among teammates.
Driver numbers were introduced on a full-time basis ahead of the 1974 season. Beginning in the 2014 season, drivers were required to select an available number before entering their first race to use throughout their entire Formula 1 careers.
Will Haas score points in the 2019 Formula 1 season finale at Yas Marina Circuit to prevent this weird history from being made, or will they go scoreless for the fifth consecutive race to achieve this rather odd mark to cap off what has been a disappointing year? The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 8:05 a.m. ET this morning.