McLaren or Ferrari for the title? Perez’s last race? Eight talking points for F1’s finale · RaceFans

For the first time in three years the world championship will be decided in the final round at Abu Dhabi.

Not the drivers’ title, of course, but a fight for the constructors’ crown between a pair of teams who haven’t won it for a long time. Ferrari’s 16-year title drought is their longest ever, while McLaren has gone 26 years without a championship – no team has ever gone that long between crowns.

After 282 days and 23 rounds, Formula 1’s longest ever season finally comes to an end on Sunday with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It will see many ‘lasts’ plus one notable ‘first’.

Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking tenure at Mercedes will come to an end after 12 seasons. Other drivers are changing teams and a few more are saying goodbye to F1. But for one racer, the final race of the season promises to be the first of their career.

Here are the talking points for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

McLaren or Ferrari?

The drivers’ title fight may be over, but one championship remains to be decided on Sunday at Yas Marina.

McLaren and Ferrari are two of the biggest names in Formula 1, yet neither has won either of F1’s titles for over 15 years. That will change on Sunday, with Red Bull now eliminated from contention.

McLaren lost their chance to clinch the championship last weekend in Qatar, with Lando Norris’s penalty proving costly. With a 21-point advantage over Ferrari, McLaren look far more likely to succeed, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr will be ready to punish any error or setback for their team’s rivals on Sunday for their last grand prix as team mates.

Hamilton’s Mercedes farewell

After 12 seasons, 84 grand prix victories, 78 pole positions, 153 podiums, 3,937.5 points, six drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ championship titles, this Sunday will be Lewis Hamilton’s 246th and final grand prix as a Mercedes driver.

Officially the longest and most successful tenure for a driver at any team in Formula 1 history, it’s fair to say Hamilton has proven those who criticised his move from McLaren to Mercedes for 2013 comprehensively wrong.

The last three seasons of the ground effect era have been the most challenging and unsuccessful of Hamilton’s time at Mercedes. But this year’s British Grand Prix victory will forever stand out as one of the most memorable moments in their shared history. Hamilton also added a second win at the Belgian Grand Prix…