Lewis Hamilton doesn’t have to worry about where Max Verstappen finishes if he wants to win an eighth Formula 1 world championship in 2021.
A gap that was as big as 33 points — and recently as big as 21 points — is down to eight points with two races remaining in the 2021 Formula 1 season, with seven-time and four-time reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes trailing Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Hamilton has responded to back-to-back wins by Verstappen with back-to-back wins of his own. For the second time through 20 races in the 22-race season, the pair have recorded four consecutive 1-2 finishes.
While Hamilton trails his title rival by eight points heading into the final two races of the year, he still controls his own destiny if he wants to win what would be a record-breaking eighth overall and record-tying fifth consecutive world title this season.
Quite simply, he can secure a set of results that will guarantee he wins the title no matter where Verstappen finishes.
How can he do that? By winning both the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Street Circuit on Sunday, December 5 and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, December 12 to close the year on a four-race winning streak.
Even if Verstappen finishes in second place with the fastest lap in both of these events, Hamilton would make up six points (25 to 19) in each one by winning. This would result in a four-point championship win for Hamilton.
Heading into the final two-race stretch of the year, Hamilton is listed by WynnBET as the favorite to win the title at -165. Verstappen is listed as the underdog at +120.
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This means that a $165 bet on Hamilton would win $100 if he wins while a $100 bet on Verstappen would win $120 if he wins.
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