Lewis Hamilton has sealed drivers' title but still plenty to race for as Formula One heads to Bahrain

As the F1 circus arrives in Middle East, the battle for third place in the constructors' championship is worth keeping an eye on

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  Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton reacts after winning the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix and equalling Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles. AP

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  Lewis Hamilton gets emotional after winning the Turkish GP for Mercedes. AFP

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  An emotional Lewis Hamilton after winning the Turkish GP for Mercedes, and with it the world title. Reuters

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  Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton after winning the Turkish GP. Reuters

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  Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton joined Michael Schumacher as the sports' only seven times champions. Reuters

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  Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Turkish GP at the Istanbul Park circuit racetrack on Sunday. AP

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  Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver of all time. Reuters

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  Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Turkish GP on Sunday to clinch the world title. Getty

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  Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes during a wet Turkish GP in Istanbul on Sunday. EPA

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  Racing Point team work in the pitlane in Istanbul. Getty

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  Mercedes Valtteri Bottas was the only other driver who could challenge Lewis Hamitlon for the world title. Getty

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  The Turkish GP was impacted by weather over the weekend. Reuters

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  Conditions were challenging for drivers at the Turkish GP. Getty

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  Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari at Istanbul track on Sunday. Getty

Despite appearances, Formula One arrives in the Middle East on Thursday with plenty to play for.

Ok, Lewis Hamilton has wrapped up an earth-shattering seventh world title in some style but there is plenty still at stake.

I’m curious to see how successful the new Bahrain format will be over the next two Sundays: two rounds a week apart, same circuit but different layout.

It could be a great solution to expanding the calendar without increasing the life-wreckingly unsustainable global traveling regime teams are forced to endure.

The 23-race calendar announced for 2021 will, of course, be the most extensive and gruelling in the sport's history.

For my money its too many and too often. The fans I have spoken to generally have that viewpoint.

But others would argue football is on every weekend and often a game slotted in mid-week as well for teams playing in European competition.

Sunday’s race is around the traditional 5.4km layout and the Sakhir GP seven days later uses about half of that and is as close to an oval circuit as modern F1 has ever come.

There are three left-handed kinks in mid-chicanes but otherwise it’s 11 corners, all right-handers and a sub-60s lap.

Of course if you’ve ever seen a proper oval Indycar race you’ll know this is nothing like it. They are four corner banked affairs in which the cars battling for first and second can be circling above those duking it out for 15th and 16th.

It’s not something I, personally, like but apparently they lap it up in America with something happening somewhere every, ohhh, three seconds. But given F1 now has American owners it’s no surprise this experiment is, at least, being tried.

Then there’s the battle for third place that has been going on behind the Mercedes snooze-fest.

With Red Bull having all-but tied up the runner’s-up spot, just 24 points separate Racing Point in third and Ferrari in sixth. (To lay it out: Racing Point 154, McLaren 149, Renault 136 and Ferrari 130)

With a possible 129 points on the table it’s anyone’s game and tens of millions in prize-money at stake.

Ferrari have had a laudable revival but they have been lamentably erratic so they are outsiders, along with Renault, sleeping giant that it is.

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F1 drivers with the most titles

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  7 titles - Michael Schumacher won a record seven Formula One world titles. The German won back-to-back titles at Benetton before leaving to join Ferrari in 1996. He would go on to win five successive F1 titles from 2000-04. Getty Images

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  7 titles - Lewis Hamilton equalled the legendary Schumacher's seven world titles with victory at Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. The Briton began his career at McLaren and went on to win his maiden F1 drivers' title in 2008. Since switching to Mercedes, the Briton has won six of the past seven championships, finishing second behind former teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016. Getty Images

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  5 titles - Juan Manuel Fangio secured all his titles in the 1950s with four teams - Alfa Romeo (1951), Maserati (1954, 1957), Daimler Benz (1955), Ferrari (1956). Getty Images

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  4 titles - Alain Prost was known as "The Professor" during an F1 career that saw him race for teams including McLaren, Ferrari and Williams. The Frenchman won three of his world titles while at McLaren (1985, 1986 and 1989) and one with Williams in 1993 before he retired from F1. Getty Images

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  4 titles - Sebastien Vettel won consecutive F1 championships behind the wheel of Red Bull between 2010-13. Getty Images

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  3 titles - Jack Brabham won the first two of his championships racing for Cooper (1959, 1960) before setting up his own racing organisation in 1962 where he went on to clinch the 1966 title. Getty Images

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  3 titles - Jackie Stewart's glorious career in F1 spanned eight years and four teams. The Briton won the 1969 title behind the wheel of a Matra before securing the titles in 1971 and 1973 with Tyrell. Getty Images

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  3 titles - Niki Lauda won the F1 title in 1975 and 1977 for Ferrari and in 1984 with McLaren. He almost won the 1976 title despite suffering horrific burns and being given his last rites. Getty Images

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  3 titles - Nelson Piquet collected three F1 titles during a long and illustrious racing career, the first two with Brabham, in 1981 and again in 1983, before clinching his third title with Williams four years later. Getty Images

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  3 titles - Many argue that the Brazilian Ayrton Senna is the greatest F1 driver of all time, despite others having won more titles. Senna won all of his championships driving for McLaren (1988, 1990, 1991) before joining Williams in 1994. He died following a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix the same year. Getty Images

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It's an interesting subplot that Maranello's senior driver Sebastian Vettel (the one who has been dumped) scored their first podium in nearly four months at the last race at his teammate's expense and would like to be going out the door after Abu Dhabi with a few more of those.

The real battle for that third place in the constructors championship probably comes down to Racing Point (the pink Mercedes) and a revitalised McLaren.

Some are painting it as Carlos Sainz versus Sergio Perez. Sainz, son of the rally legend, is off to Ferrari while the outstanding Perez is heading for unemployment.

I don’t see it that way. I know Lance Stroll silenced a few doubters with his pole performance but he is otherwise too unpredictable on raceday.

So Perez will have to go it alone, while McLaren have rising star Lando Norris backing up Sainz. For a rookie, Norris has had a remarkable first season so I'm backing the former champions.

Lando Norris with his McLaren team on the grid after the Turkey Grand Prix. Getty

McLaren have the encouragement of a couple of semi ‘home’ races to spice the pot still further as they partly owned by Mumtalakat, the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund.

Perez is in the shootout for the second Red Bull seat along with another ex-Red Bull racer, Nico Hulkenberg. The jungle drums suggest current pilot Alex Albon has been given enough time to prove himself and it has not worked out.

Another major name has been quietly settled, it appears. Mick Schumacher, son of the legendary seven-time champion may have got the nod over Callum Illot, fellow Ferrari Academy pilot, at Haas.

Rumour has it the powers that be have decided not to wait and see who comes out on top in the tightly contested final two rounds of the F2 championship in Bahrain.

Much else is in the melting pot too. Behind the scenes F1’s entire long-term future with or without combustion engines is very much in discussion.

Although F1 is sticking with the hybrid set-up and fossil fuels for the next five years (with one billion cars on the planet how could they not?) everything after that is the subject of fierce debate.

The electric power scene has already grabbed by Formula E so where is left for F1 move forward and still be relevant to its fans worldwide and the global commercial markets as fossil fuels disappear ?

In Bahrain, team bosses know it’s not over, in fact it’s only just beginning.