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Lewis Hamilton heads to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after convincingly winning the last two races, in Brazil and Qatar. In a season that has seen numerous twists and turns, the Brit finds himself just eight points behind his main rival Max Verstappen as he tries to become the first ever eight-time world champion in F1 history.
Given his recent surge in pace, the Mercedes driver is being regarded as the favorite to win the title this year. With that in mind, we look at three factors that make Lewis Hamilton the favorite to win the F1 2021 championship.
3 factors that give Lewis Hamilton the upper hand in the F1 2021 title race
#1 Mercedes has been considerably quicker than Red Bull
Lewis Hamilton has clinched pole position in the last two races by a gap of around four-tenths of a second. That is a massive difference in F1 and overcoming a deficit that size is a tall order for any driver, even someone as talented as Verstappen.
To add to this, Lewis Hamilton was demoted 25 places in total over the course of the sprint and main races but still won the Brazilian Grand Prix - a race where Red Bull was supposed to be the favorite. It's the type of momentum swing that could prove decisive in a championship battle as tight as this one.
In essence, Mercedes have simply been the quicker car overall in the second half of the season. Be it at Monza, Russia or Turkey, the Silver Arrows have held an advantage over Red Bull F1 in terms of pace and it does appear to be making the difference now.
#2 The last two track's layouts favor Mercedes
Mercedes seem to enjoy a significant advantage with their brand new engines that don't have much mileage on them. They put in a new one in Brazil and had a significant advantage in terms of straight-line speed, and the next two track layouts on the schedule are going to give Red Bull and Max Verstappen a huge headache.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix venue Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with its long straights, seems tailormade for Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes' grunt. The Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, with its two long straights, also looks set to hand the advantage towards Mercedes.
We've seen what Lewis Hamilton can do when he is in a car capable of winning races, and with both tracks expected to favor the Mercedes, it's easy to see why Lewis Hamilton is being considered by many as the favorite to win the title.
#3 It's not Lewis Hamilton's first rodeo
Lest we forget, Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion. He's mastered the art of prevailing in championship fights. Most famously, he did it against Felipe Massa in 2008 and even in 2014, when he beat his then Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
After more than a decade in the sport, Hamilton simply doesn't feel the pressure in the same way that someone like Verstappen, who is going for his first-ever title, would.
In a pressure-packed situation in any of the next two races, where even a position could determine the outcome, the Brit is the one who's more likely to stay on course than the Dutchman.
