Amidst the current hoopla surrounding sporting events in the Middle East – this weekend, MotoGP’s final round in Qatar is going ahead amid an extraordinary emergency shelter plan – there is an altogether obvious tone to take regarding the final two rounds of this year’s Formula 1 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Whether they are cancelled, go ahead, or a one-off round in Imola takes place, it ultimately does not matter. That is, at least, from a sporting perspective.
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Last year, the same could not be said for the gripping three-way season-finale title showdown in Abu Dhabi. Nor 2021 and that contentiously thrilling conclusion to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton‘s all-time championship tussle. And nor 2016, when Nico Rosberg pipped Hamilton to the post despite some late-in-the-day on-track shenanigans from the Brit.
Verstappen lost out in last year’s title showdown with Lando Norris (Getty)
But other than that? Fine as you are. For the majority of fans, casual or hardcore, the drivers’ title is what really matters. And only three times in the last decade has Abu Dhabi – which pays around £31m for the rights to stage the season-finale – actually played host to a race with the sport’s ultimate prize on the line.
There are two schools of thought here. On one hand, the rarity of such scenarios only adds to the sense of theatre when they do come about. True, I say to that. Yet the flip side to that is obvious: for a sport so keen to lean into the sense of drama and jeopardy, the fact that the final two races in eight out of the last 11 seasons have nothing on the line in the individual race is pretty unsatisfactory.
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This year, runaway champion Kimi Antonelli has wrapped up the 2026 world championship with four rounds to spare. In 2023 and 2022, Max Verstappen clinched the title with five and four rounds remaining respectively. What it leads to, for the likes of Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Qatar, Las Vegas (often Mexico and Austin) are sporting events taking place without that added edge of competitiveness.
Only so much razzmatazz on the side can make up for that. Team bosses and seasoned executives of the sport can hype up the “battle for second” or the “best of the rest” tussle in the midfield as much as they like but, ultimately, an extremely small group of people actually care about that.
Now, it could be worse. The earliest ever title-clinch came in 2002 when, astonishingly, Michael Schumacher wrapped up his fifth world championship on 21 July at Magny-Cours. It meant that, even with the old points-scoring system (which rewarded 10 points for a win down to one point for 10th), the Ferrari driver secured his fifth title with six rounds remaining – a record which is yet to be beaten.
How many races have been left after F1 title clinched?
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2026: 4 (Mexico – venue for title clinch)
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2025: 0 (Abu Dhabi)
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2024: 2 (Vegas)
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2023: 5 (Qatar)
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2022: 4 (Japan)
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2021: 0 (Abu Dhabi)
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2020: 3 (Turkey)
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2019: 2 (Austin)
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2018: 2 (Mexico)
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2017: 2 (Mexico)
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2016: 0 (Abu Dhabi)
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24 “pointless” races in 10 years
But, obviously, most of these title races are effectively over long before the final nail in the coffin. This year, we knew Antonelli would not be caught when George Russell’s engine let him down (again) in Malaysia. In 2022, Charles Leclerc’s crash at Paul-Ricard in July meant there would be no foreseeable route back in the standings.
Sebastian Vettel’s comeback from 39 points down with seven races to go in 2012 is an F1 record for the highest points deficit overcome in a title race. Of course, Max Verstappen came mighty close to overturning a 104-point deficit last year, in the end finishing just two points shy of champion Lando Norris. But that is an anomaly.
And here’s the thing: F1 continues to publicise record attendance figures – credit should be given here, especially in terms of the surrounding spectacle of entertainment and concerts on offer and ever-increasing capacity capabilities – as well as astonishing global fanbase numbers. Latest stats suggest the number of fans extends beyond 830 million worldwide, 42% of whom are women and 43% are under the age of 35.
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Yet in the United States – F1’s No 1 target market and a country used to post-season jeopardy with the play-offs after the regular season in NFL, MLB and NBA – this year’s move from ESPN to Apple has seen audiences fall. According to a USA Today report in July, six of the nine races to that point saw viewership declines of 13% or greater compared to 2025. Miami and Monaco, strikingly, saw drops of 68% and 66% respectively.
Michael Schumacher secured the 2002 title with six rounds remaining (Getty)
Could this be about a switch from cable to streaming? Or could it be about an underwhelming season on track compared to last year? The answer is probably a bit of both.
In terms of solutions, it is a tricky one. You can point to the American model for sport and keeping eyeballs on the final prize until the end of the season, but you can also point to the Premier League, which has often endured meaningless rounds of matches in May with the title long wrapped up. The counter-argument is that, with top-four, Europa League and relegation battles also at play, there is much more scope for final-day drama.
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A comparison, in this respect, is not possible in F1’s closed shop. But with 10 sprints on the calendar next year – and three of the final four rounds hosting sprints – perhaps a proper sprint-leaderboard could be created. While obviously superficial, it could give an added competitive edge for the drivers. Similarly, what about an actual qualifying table? It would need actual incentives: perhaps it could result in more prize money? More off-season wind-tunnel time? More margins to gain ahead of the season to follow?
There is no easy remedy. Yet for a sport not afraid to push the boat – whether it be the number of races, sprints or behind-the-scenes camera access – perhaps something new could be floated in order to give the end-of-season countdown an added oomph which, more often than not, it badly lacks.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
