World Cup decided at the last gasp

As shown by the data in the table below, since 2000 the drivers' championship has been won at the last race eight times. However, in the last ten seasons, world championships decided at the grand final have been a rarity compared to the past. As chance would have it, in both circumstances (2016 and 2021), the loser was Lewis Hamilton. The British driver, however, has in his favour the 2008 victory at the expense of Felipe Massa, which came on the very last lap of the last GP.

The three-way sprint is nothing new in Formula One, nor is it a record. In 2010 there were even four drivers in the title race: Vettel, Alonso, Webber and Hamilton. The closest case to 2025, however, is undoubtedly 2007.

In the season of Ferrari's last drivers' title, the two McLaren Mercedes drivers (Hamilton and Alonso) started as favourites at the last race, occupying the first two places in the standings. Raikkonen's victory in Sao Paulo crowned a long run-up by the Finnish driver, author of seven consecutive podiums and winner by just one point over the McLaren pair, paired at the end of the year. The parallel with Verstappen's comeback is tangible: but will it be completed?