The 2021 Formula One drivers' title will be decided at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen head into the season finale level on 369.5 points with it all to play for at Yas Marina Circuit.
Verstappen will start on pole, with Hamilton second as the heavyweights of the sport clash for the final time this season.
Here's a look at how each driver fared in the 21 races leading up to Abu Dhabi.
Round 1 - Bahrain Grand Prix
Race: Verstappen hunts down Hamilton and overtakes with four laps to go only to overshoot track limits and have to give the place back. A second misjudgement in how he hands back the lead rules out a counterattack and ice cool Hamilton opens the season with a win. Verstappen is second, left to rue what might have been.
Points: Hamilton 7 ahead of Verstappen
Round 2 - Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Race: Decisive overtaking move on Hamilton at Turn 1 earns Verstappen victory as the world champion later slides off but finishes second.
Points: Hamilton +1
Round 3 - Portugal Grand Prix
Race: Inspired tactical victory by Hamilton at his mystical ‘tyre whisper’ best. Verstappen second.
Points: Hamilton +8
Round 4 - Spanish Grand Prix
Race: Points summit of Hamilton’s season with third win in four races takes him 14 points clear. Will this be another year of Mercedes domination? Verstappen second again.
Points: Hamilton +14
Round 5 - Monaco Grand Prix
Race: Verstappen wins to lead a title race for first time in his career. It is the first time in three years Mercedes have not led either championship.
Points: Verstappen +4 ahead
Round 6 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Race: Verstappen’s tyre blows while leading, Hamilton fumbles gear shift to hand surprise victory to Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez.
Points: Verstappen +4
Round 7 - French Grand Prix
Race: Strategic triumph as Verstappen overtakes Hamilton on the penultimate lap to end Mercedes’ domination of Paul Ricard.
Points: Verstappen +12
Rounds 8/9 - Styria and Austria
Races: Back-to-back victories for Verstappen on Red Bull’s home track gives him a massive 32 points lead in title race. Hamilton second and fourth.
Points: Styria, Verstappen +18; Austria, Verstappen +32
Round 10 - British Grand Prix
Race: Verstappen wins Saturday's sprint race. Hamilton crashes Verstappen off (and into hospital) on Sunday and wins his home race despite a steward’s time penalty punishment.
Points: Verstappen +8
Round 11 - Hungarian Grand Prix
Race: Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, triggers a crash which ends Verstappen’s day at the first corner. Hamilton’s second place is enough to lead the title race once again in a 40-point swing over two grands prix.
Points: Hamilton +8
Round 12 - Belgium Grand Prix
Race: Verstappen returns from the summer break to win a farcical, two lap, rain-lashed abandoned ‘race’. Hamilton third.
Points: Hamilton +3
Round 13 - Dutch Grand Prix
Race: Verstappen wins his home race - the first Dutch GP for 36 years - to take to the front of the championship yet again, this time by just three points as the momentum swings back to Red Bull.
Points: Verstappen +3
Round 14 - Italian Grand Prix
Race: Hamilton and Verstappen crash out together vying for the lead at Turn 1. Red Bull car beached on top the Mercedes. Daniel Ricciardo wins.
Points: Verstappen +5
Round 15 - Russian Grand Prix
Race: Hamilton scores a brilliant record 100th victory in changing conditions. Verstappen second.
Points: Hamilton +2
Round 16 - Turkish Grand Prix
Race: Hamilton’s engine change grid penalty hands victory to teammate Bottas, with Verstappen second and the world champion fifth.
Points: Verstappen +6
Round 17 - United States Grand Prix
Race: Bastion of Hamilton success surprisingly falls to Verstappen after a spectacular drive.
Points: Verstappen +12
Round 18 - Mexican Grand Prix
Race: Verstappen roars from third on the grid, behind both Mercedes, to win and take a 19-point lead with four rounds remaining. Hamilton second.
Points: Verstappen +19
Round 19 - Brazilian Grand Prix
Race: Hamilton wins from the back of the grid after Mercedes penalised for an illegal rear wing, overtaking Verstappen in the final stages. Both go off at Turn 4 battling for the lead but escape punishment. Verstappen lead 14 points.
Points: Verstappen +14
Round 20 - Qatar Grand Prix
Race: Dominant victory by Hamilton from pole as Verstappen minimises damage in second having started seventh thanks to a penalty for ignoring yellow flags. Hamilton cuts Verstappen’s lead to eight points.
Points: Verstappen +8
Round 21 - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Race: Dramatic race won by Hamilton after title rivals collide twice in one of the most dramatic races of modern times. Verstappen a battling second. Aided by his ‘spicey’ super-fast engine Hamilton ties down fastest lap despite a damaged car to level the championship after 21 races.
Points: Level
Round 22 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Hamilton and Verstappen go to the final round tied on points the first time that has happened between championship contenders since 1974.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Company%20profile
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Dhadak 2
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Rating: 1/5
Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
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HOW TO WATCH
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
