Formula 1: The meaningless battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton

The 2021 Formula 1 world championship battle is set to come down to the wire in this Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.

After the first 21 races of the 22-race 2021 Formula 1 season, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton are tied atop the driver standings with 369.5 points.

The season is set to reach its conclusion this Sunday, December 12 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.

Hamilton is five-time winner at the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, but Verstappen won there for the first time last December.

With that being said, there were several changes made to the track for this year’s race, making it a 16-turn, 3.281-mile (5.280-kilometer) track.

Either way, the two are level on points heading into Sunday’s race, a scenario that many had been envisioning — and hoping for — over the last few months.

However, there is one battle that continues to be mentioned, despite the fact that it really holds no relevance from this point forward.

In fact, even three races ago, it held no relevance.

And that is the battle for the tiebreaker.

Since before the Brazilian Grand Prix, when Verstappen had nine wins to Hamilton’s five, the only way that Hamilton could have secured the tiebreaker was by winning all four of the remaining races.

But even then, under every scenario in which Hamilton won all four of these races, he was guaranteed to lead on points anyway (even if Verstappen finished in second place with the extra point for fastest lap in every race).

Now it is 9-8 with one race remaining, and this is still the case.

The only difference now is that technically Hamilton can’t actually clinch the tiebreaker.

Even with a win in the season finale, which would bring the two even with nine wins each, Verstappen would secure the tiebreaker with more runner-up finishes. That battle is currently 8-7 in favor of Verstappen, and if Hamilton wins, he obviously can’t add to his total.

But in this scenario, it wouldn’t matter, as a win for Hamilton would see him clinch the title anyway.

The only way that the tiebreaker can truly benefit anybody now is if neither driver scores (benefits Verstappen, since he is currently classified as the leader) or if Verstappen finishes in 10th place with the fastest lap and Hamilton finishes in ninth. In the latter case, both drivers would score two points, giving Verstappen what would be his first championship.

The 2021 world championship is set to be decided this Sunday, December 12 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. ESPN2 is set to broadcast the race live from Yas Marina Circuit beginning at 7:55 a.m. ET.  Begin your free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the action!