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The Ferrari and Mercedes teams will compete for the constructors’ runner-up in the final challenge in the Formula 1 World Championship when they enter the twenty-second and final stage of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the next three days, after the Dutchman Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team won. » The two world titles for the drivers and constructors categories.

“Ferrari” or “Mercedes” behind “Red Bull”? Aside from the Red Bull team, which continues its solo journey thanks to its “record” driver Verstappen, the battle for second place will take place between “Mercedes” and “Ferrari.”

The “Silver Arrows” team (392 points) is four points ahead of “Scuderia” (388), which is a very small difference considering the points contested in the final stage, which amount to 44 points.

The preference seems to go to Ferrari. Because since the improvements that were made at the beginning of last September to its two cars, the “Prancing Horse” team has been ahead of “Mercedes” on a regular basis, scoring an average of 24.4 points at the end of each stage, compared to 17.1 points for its German competitor.

Austrian Toto Wolff, director of the German Barn, acknowledged this, saying, “They have shown a good level recently, but we know that we have not reached the maximum level of our performance in the past few races.”

For his part, Frenchman Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari director, praised the wonderful performance of his drivers, Charles Leclerc from Monaco, and Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr. in the “Las Vegas Grand Prix” last Sunday, when they finished the race in second and sixth place, respectively, but he seemed cautious during his talk about the “Abu Dhabi Prize.” ».

He said: “We know our car well and we know that it will not be more competitive in Abu Dhabi as it was in Las Vegas. “The smallest details can make the difference, and every point matters.”

The scheduled night race at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi will witness another battle for fourth place between McLaren and Aston Martin.

The McLaren team, which has 284 points, will try to maintain its position ahead of Aston Martin (273), a position it seized thanks to its amazing return since the British Grand Prix last August, at the expense of the clear decline of the Aston Martin team, which was more efficient at the beginning of the season thanks to its Spanish driver. Veteran Fernando Alonso (42 years old).

The McLaren team succeeded in returning to the podium thanks to the improvements made to its car, which faced great difficulty at the beginning of the year.

The bet will be big on finishing the season in fourth place. Because the final ranking determines the share of revenue that Formula 1 management pays to the teams, as their rewards increase the better they are ranked.

“Verstappen to boost his records”Just five days after his victory in Las Vegas, Verstappen will sit behind the wheel of his Red Bull car for the last time this year, aiming to achieve another victory to strengthen his record in the number of victories.

The world champion for the past three years will be exhausted, like the rest of the drivers, due to the time difference and the long trip from Las Vegas to the UAE capital after four consecutive races in North and South America.

Verstappen’s victory in the streets of Las Vegas was the eighteenth in 21 races this season and the fifty-third in his career, equaling the number of former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, the German four-time world champion, in the number of victories in the world championship.

Verstappen also strengthened his record by climbing to the podium for the twentieth time in one season, raising his score at the top of the general standings to 549 points, with a wide difference from his colleague Pires, who finished third in Las Vegas and secured runner-up in the world championship (273) at the expense of Mercedes driver Lewis. Hamilton, seven-time world champion.

Verstappen and Pires contributed to strengthening Red Bull, which won the constructors’ title, to a record lead that no team has ever achieved, by more than 400 points over its closest competitor, Mercedes (822 points compared to 392).

Verstappen will seek to break up the partnership with Vettel and take third place behind German Michael Schumacher (91 victories) and Hamilton, who secured third place in the standings this season (103).

This is the first time since 2015 that the top three positions in the drivers’ title race have been decided before the final round of the season.