What is F1’s greatest title showdown?

2010 Abu Dhabi GP – Jake Boxall-Legge

Renault driver Petrov played a pivotal role in the outcome of the championship

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Four drivers remained in title contention for the 2010 finale in Abu Dhabi, which ladled further excitement onto a season saturated in championship narrative shifts. Due to the season’s ebb and flow, it was an interesting quirk that the championship leader heading into a race did not win at any point. 

Fernando Alonso hoped to break that curse going into the last round of the year. He topped the standings with 246 points, although Red Bull’s pairing of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel had closed the gap at the penultimate round in Brazil – Webber had 238 points, Vettel 231. Lewis Hamilton, on 222 points, needed to win, and have Alonso’s Ferrari register no points to have a chance.

Everything went smoothly for Vettel. He converted pole into an early lead and later, the victory, but had to endure an agonising wait as the fortunes of Alonso and Webber were not yet clear.

Alonso lost a place off the line to a fast-starting Jenson Button, putting him fourth, while Webber preserved his starting position of fifth. The two pitted early after struggling on soft tyres, which ultimately put them behind first-lap stopper Vitaly Petrov as they clawed through the traffic.

Petrov, who had produced a solid-if-unspectacular rookie year with Renault, chose Abu Dhabi to deliver a defensive masterclass and contained Alonso and Webber for the whole race. When Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica pitted later and cleared the train, Alonso’s and Webber’s championship assaults were in tatters.

Vettel had to wait for Alonso and Webber to cross the line, but it was worth the agony: the crown was his by four points.

2008 Brazilian GP – Fil Cleeren

Massa’s salute to his fans after winning the race but losing out on the championship a standout moment

Photo by: Rainer W Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

There are plenty of factors that make a good title showdown, but not knowing the identity of the world champion until the final corner of the final race is pretty hard to beat in my book.

After an up-and-down 2008 season, the title was still Lewis Hamilton’s to lose, but a downpour minutes before the start set the scene for an unforgettable afternoon. A season’s worth of drama spilled out onto a soaked Interlagos track, that iconic Sao Paulo bowl packed to the rafters with Brazilian fans cheering on one of the two title protagonists.

In what would be his final grand prix win, Felipe Massa hit pole-to-flag perfection in his Ferrari, while points leader Hamilton, who had started his McLaren from a safe fourth, suddenly found himself on the outside looking in after a cautious pit strategy.

Following a dry spell the rain returned towards the end of race, with Hamilton losing his crucial fifth position to Sebastian Vettel. After that it looked game, set and match for Massa… until Hamilton passed the slick-tyred Toyota of Timo Glock for fifth in the final corner of the race.

The confusion meant we were treated to the surreal scene of two different crews and families celebrating a world championship within the space of 30 seconds. It also set the stage for an emotionally charged podium ceremony, with magnanimous Massa saluting the Brazilian fans despite the bitter heartbreak.

2021 Abu Dhabi GP – Oleg Karpov

Hamilton could not keep Verstappen at bay on the last lap of the 2021 season finale

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

An overtake on a championship rival on the last lap of the final race of the season, after months of drama and controversy – nothing really beats that. F1 will probably never again come as close to a Hollywood-style ending as Abu Dhabi 2021. Yet it will forever carry that bitter aftertaste of the race direction breaking its own rules to create it.

Still, the conclusion of the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen title fight somehow felt fitting for what that season had been. Both were utterly deserving of the championship. Both delivered remarkable performances. And it’s almost impossible to say who truly ‘deserved’ it more. The fact that they arrived in Abu Dhabi level on points says it all: each had done everything possible to claim the crown.

That’s why neither could really feel like they lost. Because suggesting Hamilton wasn’t worthy of an eighth title that night would be dishonest. But at the same time, it’s hard to argue Verstappen didn’t merit becoming champion either. He seized the only opportunity that came his way, and his season was no less impressive than Hamilton’s.

In the end, Abu Dhabi 2021 has become part of F1 folklore. Whether you see it as a disgrace or as the most fitting conclusion to one of the sport’s greatest battles, one thing is clear: it was a finale after which both drivers could walk away feeling undefeated – even if for one of them, it was only a moral victory.

1986 Australian GP – Kevin Turner

Three-way fight between Piquet, Prost and Mansell was settled in Adelaide

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Championship finales fought out between team-mates or rivals from different squads can be great, but the 1986 Australian GP had intra-team tension and an outside contender. Williams had the fastest package in 1986 – as well as two top drivers in Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. And arguably the season’s best driver kept himself in contention with relentless consistency and the odd bit of magic – McLaren’s Alain Prost.

Mansell arrived in Australia six points ahead of Prost, with Piquet one point further back. At a time when nine points were awarded for victory, the advantage was with Mansell. The Briton duly took pole and ran where he needed to for much of the race, while Prost’s team-mate Keke Rosberg put in one of his great drives to lead 56 of the 82 laps. Prost and Piquet also provided action, Prost going on a charge after a pitstop thanks to a puncture, and Piquet suffering a spin but quickly recovering past Mansell.

The big drama arrived in the final 20 laps. Rosberg pulled out of the lead with tyre failure, Prost passed Mansell and then the Williams-Honda’s left-rear tyre burst spectacularly down the back straight.

Piquet was now in position to take the crown, but he was called in for a precautionary tyre change. He chased Prost but fell 4.2s short and the Frenchman retained his title after a roller coaster of a race. His was one of the great F1 campaigns – and got the fitting finale the season deserved.

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Polesitter Mansell had the points advantage at the start of the Australian Grand Prix

Photo by: Motorsport Images