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Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024

Everything to be decided in F1's Abu Dhabi season-finale

RacingNews365 takes a look at everything major to be decided in the 2024 F1 season-finale in Abu Dhabi.

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The longest-ever F1 season draws to a close this weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - round 24 of 24. 

The drivers' championship was sown up by Max Verstappen in Las Vegas, making him just the sixth driver to win four titles - but heading to Yas Marina, there are still a number things to be decided, including the fate of the constructors' championship. 

Below, RacingNews365 takes a look at all of the major talking points to be decided across the weekend - starting with the McLaren vs Ferrari fight for the constructors'.

What is to be decided in the 2024 season-finale?

The constructors' world championship

McLaren head to Abu Dhabi on 640 points, 21 clear of Ferrari as the two old rivals prepare to fight it out for the 2024 constructors' title. It would be McLaren's first since 1998 and Ferrari's first of any kind since it landed the 2008 constructors'. For McLaren, it would be a ninth title, for Ferrari, a record-extending 17th. 

P6 in the constructors' 

Red Bull and Mercedes are locked into third and fourth, respectively, with Aston Martin all but guaranteed to finish fifth. Elsewhere, Williams and Stake look set to finish ninth and 10th, respectively, leaving three teams battling over P6.

Alpine currently holds the position after Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon's late surge of points, with 59 on the board, ahead of Haas on 54 and RB on 46. Finishing sixth over seventh or eighth could be worth up to $30 million in prize money after the season when F1 divvies up the prize pot. 

A joker that could aid Haas is that Alpine is putting reserve driver Jack Doohan in for his F1 debut ahead of a 2025 season after Ocon stood down from the team in order to participate in the post-season test with his new team on the Tuesday following the event - that team being Haas...

P2 in the drivers' 

In terms of the drivers' title, P1, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8 and P9 in the top 10 are all wrapped up, or will be barring an unlikely swing of points. 

This leaves only runner-up and third-place and P10 up for grabs, with there being just eight points between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc in the fight for runner-up status. 

Should Leclerc take the win with fastest lap and Norris finish in second place, the position would go to the Monegasque by dint of having four wins to Norris's three, with ties seperated on countback with number of wins the first tie-breaker.

P10 in the drivers' 

Four drivers can finish P10 in the standings, with Nico Hulkenberg on 37 points, Pierre Gasly 36, Yuki Tsunoda 30 and Lance Stroll 24. 

Gasly is in the richest vein of form, scoring 28 of his 36 points since the Mexico City Grand Prix, including third in Brazil and fifth in Qatar.

The second Red Bull seat

Franco Colapinto appears out of the race, Valtteri Bottas (who will be looking to avoid a first-ever point-less season) is a non-starter as the fight to be Verstappen's team-mate boils down to Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson or Tsunoda.

Perez appears to be out following his dreadful season in which he has scored just 48 points since Miami with Lawson the front-runner. But can any of the trio stake their claim to partner Verstappen next season?

Lewis Hamilton

In his final race for Mercedes, Hamilton must win to have any chance of avoiding a career-worst P7 in the standings, currently sitting 24 points behind team-mate George Russell.

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on a chaotic Qatar GP and look ahead to the season finale in Qatar. Max Verstappen's feud with George Russell is a key discussion, as is Lando Norris' penalty. Comments made by Toto Wolff on the FIA are also looked into.

Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!

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