Still a lot at stake in F1 finale

23 November 2017 - 07:34 By REUTERS
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While four-times world champion Hamilton's Mercedes teammates can again look forward to healthy year-end bonuses, others are scrapping for crucial points that could swell their 2018 budgets.
While four-times world champion Hamilton's Mercedes teammates can again look forward to healthy year-end bonuses, others are scrapping for crucial points that could swell their 2018 budgets.
Image: Nelson ALMEIDA / AFP

The Formula One season winds up in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with both titles won, Lewis Hamilton aiming to close the year on a winning note and big money still at stake for those further down the paddock pecking order.

While four-times world champion Hamilton's Mercedes teammates can again look forward to healthy year-end bonuses, others are scrapping for crucial points that could swell their 2018 budgets.

Toro Rosso, Renault and Haas are just six points apart, with the difference between sixth place and eighth in the constructors' championship equivalent to about $12-million (R166-million) when it comes to revenue distribution.

"This race is almost a championship in itself," says Renault Sport F1 head Cyril Abiteboul, whose team are four points behind Toro Rosso and two clear of Ferrari-powered Haas.

There is extra needle in the showdown with Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso using the French manufacturer's engines for one last time before switching to Honda.

At the top, Hamilton will be determined to grab a 10th win of the season - making it the fourth year in a row that his tally has entered double figures.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel will also be looking for bragging rights by becoming the first non-Mercedes driver of the V6 turbo hybrid era that started in 2014 to finish in the top two of the championship.

The German is 22 points clear of Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas, who can only finish runner-up if he wins and Vettel scores no more than two points.  

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