Formula 1: The off-track decision that handed Lewis Hamilton 2 points

There are many factors throughout the 2021 Formula 1 season that have led to the driver standings being tied with one race remaining.

After 21 races on the 22-race 2021 Formula 1 schedule, the world championship battle between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is tied at exactly 369.5 points.

Verstappen does hold the tiebreaker over Hamilton heading into this coming Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit as a result of having nine wins to Hamilton’s eight, and if Hamilton were to add a ninth win in the season finale, he would win the title outright on points anyway.

Naturally, there are so many different scenarios that have unfolded throughout the season which, when flipped the opposite direction, would have caused the points scenario to look different than it does now.

You have Bahrain track limits, the Imola red flag, the Baku tire failure and ensuing restart, the introduction of sprint qualifying races, the Silverstone crash, the mayhem at the start in Hungary, the half-points “race” at Spa, the Monza pit stop sequence and ensuing crash, etc. The list goes on.

You even have quite a few issues involving other drivers that, in turn, affected the championship contenders.

It goes without saying that if any one of these scenarios had played out differently, we would not be looking at a tie atop the driver standings heading into round 22 of 22.

But one such scenario had absolutely nothing to do with either driver, and it did not even happen on the race track.

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel finished in second place in the Hungarian Grand Prix, with Hamilton in third and Verstappen in 10th after the mayhem at the start.

But several hours after the checkered flag flew, Vettel was disqualified over a fuel infraction, causing him to relinquish his second place finish. This promoted Hamilton to second and Verstappen to ninth.

As a result, Hamilton scored 18 points as opposed to 15 (+3), while Verstappen scored two points instead of one (+1).

So it resulted in a net gain of two points for Hamilton.

With the pair now tied heading into the season finale, Hamilton is listed as the favorite to win what would be his eighth championship. Verstappen, the underdog, is seeking his first after entering the season without a finish of higher than third place in the standings.

Take a look at the championship odds, courtesy of WynnBET.

• Lewis Hamilton: -215
• Max Verstappen: +155

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live from Yas Marina Circuit on ESPN2 beginning at 7:55 a.m. ET on Sunday, December 12. Don’t forget to begin your free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss any of the action!

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