This season’s F1 championship has produced a fascinating fight to the wire and it would be foolish to predict the final outcome
![Verstappen and Hamilton’s title duel enters climax with no margin for error](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3387a2cb85c4f264d6cf40315469af60af45393e/0_389_4317_2591/master/4317.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=361f55dadfe4f920b7e76432be47c62b)
Formula One is a sport defined by tiny margins, yet for years has not enjoyed a championship as closely competitive as this season’s mighty head-to-head between
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Their duel is entering the endgame which will be as fiercely fought as it is difficult to call. So well-matched are the two drivers and their rides that nerveless, flawless execution will be imperative. Five races remain and they are no place for the faint-hearted.
F1 is revelling in a season such as it has not enjoyed since the turbo-hybrid era began in 2014. Hamilton’s Mercedes team has dominated since then, rarely been challenged and never such that they were in a blow for blow fight to the wire in the final stages. This year Verstappen and Red Bull have brought that battle to them with emphatic verve.