Formula One | When final races turned into thrilling title deciders

With the crown at stake, Formula One has produced some nail-biting finishes in the season-ender

For the first time since 2016, the Formula One drivers’ title will be decided in the final race, in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen tied on points (369.5). A look at some memorable title deciders in recent times:

Going into the last race, Hamilton was trailing teammate Nico Rosberg by 12 points. The former controlled the race from pole but needed the latter to finish outside the podium to win the title. Towards the end of the race, Hamilton dramatically slowed his pace to hold back Rosberg who was being hotly pursued by Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen. Despite the team ordering him to pick up pace, Hamilton tried his best to trip up Rosberg but the German prevailed and went on to take his only world title.

For the second time in three years, Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso were vying for the honours, the former enjoying a 13-point lead before the final race. Vettel had a poor start from fourth while Alonso moved ahead of his rival starting eighth. Vettel was then hit by Bruno Senna, leaving him last and a lot of damage to his car. The German, however, continued and battled hard to finish sixth while Alonso took the second spot and lost the title by three points.