Where to Watch F1 and Bathurst This Weekend (December 5th, 2021)

Formula 1 - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Sunday, December 5th - 12:30 p.m. EDT - ESPN2

For now, the championship still seems destined to come down to a virtually-tied finale at Yas Marina next weekend. Lewis Hamilton trails Max Verstappen by eight points, equivalent to the points a driver gets for winning a race and taking the fastest lap. He also starts on pole again tomorrow at what seems to be a "Mercedes track," one favoring their car's lower rake profile and higher top speed. A win sets up a finale where whomever finishes ahead of the other in the points wins.

But this is a new race at a new track, one where Verstappen knows that he has the opportunity to take control. A win for Verstappen over a second-placed Hamilton puts him between 14 and 16 points ahead before the season's final race. That would be something like a commanding lead, one that would mean Hamilton needs more than what his team can control. A win and a second from Bottas would not be enough to guarantee a win at Yas Marina. If Verstappen wins and Hamilton finishes sixth or worse without Hamilton taking the fastest lap of the race, Verstappen clinches the championship tomorrow.

The new track at Jeddah is fast and unforgiving, something Charles Leclerc found out the hard way during practice yesterday. Every possible hit here is a bad one, particularly with some hard walls jutting out at unfortunate places in some of the track's faster corners. It is also far more on-throttle than most tracks, all while being as narrow as a street circuit. If the field can make their way through turn 1 without a problem, drivers may actually stretch out fairly quickly with far fewer passing opportunities than the average F1 track. Hamilton shares the front row with teammate Valtteri Bottas, where he will hope that both he and his teammate can get away early and not have to worry about an on-track clash with Verstappen again until next weekend. Verstappen will hope he can get past Bottas early and put pressure on Hamilton on lap 1.