Anyone who has watched a Formula 1 race in 2021 knows it has been one of the most memorable seasons the sport has ever seen.
Viewers and followers also know the season has produced a heated rivalry between the two best drivers. Those two drivers battle it out on Dec. 12 in the finale that will decide the overall season champion.
The Race: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is 8 a.m. EST on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. The race is the 22nd and final race in the 2021 Formula 1 season. Formula 1 is publicly traded as Liberty Formula One Group FWONA.
Viewers in the U.S. can view the race on ESPN, a unit of Walt Disney Co DIS.
Head-to-Head Battle: For the first time since 1974, the Formula 1 finale will decide the winner of the season.
The 1974 season was the only time two racers were tied for the lead heading into the finale. Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni were tied in 1974 with Fittipaldi ultimately winning as Regazzoni faced car trouble during the race.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen are tied in the standings with an identical 369.5 points. The two drivers have a pretty public rivalry that has been amplified with three collisions this season and one hospital stay for Verstappen.
If Hamilton wins the race and league championship, it would mark his eighth Formula 1 championship and break a tie with Michael Schumacher for the most titles in the sport ever.
Verstappen finished in third place in the 2019 and 2020 Formula 1 seasons, his highest finish to date.
Verstappen shares a slight advantage with nine wins this season and Hamilton having eight. Four other racers have each won one race. Formula 1 said Verstappen “technically maintains the lead” because of his race wins lead, something that could come into play if both drivers finish low in the race standings or are both knocked out of the race.
Hamilton has history on his side with more championship titles than every racer except Schumacher. Hamilton holds the record for most Grand Prix wins at 103 versus 91 for Schumacher.
Verstappen has a career of 19 wins in 140 starts and was the winner at this track in 2020. Hamilton won four of the last seven races at the course and has won the last three Formula 1 races to close the gap with Verstappen.
Related Link: Could Netflix Help Shares Of Formula One?
Increased Popularity: The head-to-head battle and rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen is leading to ratings the Formula 1 hasn't seen in years.
Across Disney-owned ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, Formula 1 viewership is an average of 947,000 viewers per race, up 56% year-over-year.
Viewership in the U.S. has been helped by a docuseries called “Formula One: Drive to Survive,” airing on Netflix Inc NFLX. The series, which began in 2019, has brought new viewers to Formula 1 in the U.S. as they connect with the drivers behind the scenes.
Other countries are also seeing strong viewership, including Sky in the U.K. Last week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix had the highest Formula One viewership in Sky’s ten-year history of airing the sport's races, reporting a peak audience of 2.66 million and an average of 2.23 million viewers.
Formula 1 Stock: Liberty Media acquired Formula 1 in 2017 for $4.6 billion. Liberty also owns the Atlanta Braves, which trades as Liberty Braves Group BATRA.
Liberty Media reported third-quarter revenue of $2.2 billion, which was up 9% year-over-year. The Formula 1 segment saw revenue of $668 million in the third quarter, up 12% year-over-year.
The 2022 Formula 1 season will expand to 23 races and include a second U.S. location with the first-ever Formula 1 race in Miami scheduled for the year.
Formula 1 has said it is interested in bringing more races to cities in the U.S. with Las Vegas and Manhattan mentioned.
Another item that could increase revenue for Formula 1 is new media rights deals. Disney has the U.S. rights through 2022 for Formula 1. Interested parties in acquiring future rights include Netflix and Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.
A bidding war to obtain U.S. rights to a growing sport could help the stock. ESPN has said it wants to continue partnering with Formula 1.
“A few years ago, the rights to Formula One were sold. At that time, we were not among the bidders — today we would think about it,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said earlier this year.
FWONA shares are up 48% year-to-date and currently trading near their 52-week high of $59.11.
Betting Odds: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will likely see strong interest across sports betting platforms.
Draftkings Inc DKNG started the betting odds at -225 for Hamilton to win the race and +200 for Verstappen to win the race. Valtteri Bottas, who is a distant third place in season points (218) is listed third at odds of +1600 to win the race.
Odds on Flutter Entertainment ADR PDYPY owned FanDuel have Hamilton at -170 to win the race and Verstappen at +185 to win. Odds to win the championship are -190 for Hamilton and +150 for Verstappen.
Most who follow Formula 1 would be shocked if the two racers didn’t finish in the top three. Odds for a top-three finish are -400 for Hamilton and -300 for Verstappen at BetMGM, a joint venture from MGM Resorts International MGM.
A 1-2 finish seems highly likely for Hamilton and Verstappen here. There is some risk that both drivers will be aggressive and could face a higher risk of crashing.
While Hamilton winning a record eight titles could be great for the sport, Verstappen winning could show the young driver, at age 24, as the racer who could be the next to challenge Hamilton’s records.
Photo: Formula 1 race in Long Beach, California, by Brian McCall on Unsplash
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