How the gripping 2007 and 2010 finales panned out ahead of F1's latest three-way title decider in Abu Dhabi

Not for the first time, the Formula 1 title will be decided in showstopping fashion in the season finale, with Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri all still in the fight in Abu Dhabi. The two most recent examples where there have been three or more contenders going into the final round were back in 2010 and 2007. So, how did those unfold?

There are moments in Formula 1 that hang around in the memory, and those championship deciders are certainly two of them. Both had multiple competitors at varying stages of their careers battling it out to be the world number one – and in the end, neither of those seasons were won by the person leading the standings at the start of the last race.

That might not be the best news for Norris, but it gives Verstappen and Piastri more than a glimmer of hope, with a 12 and 16-point gap to the Briton respectively. With that in mind, we take a look at how those previous underdogs clawed their way back to write their names in the history books…

How Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen kept themselves in the battle in 2007

At the beginning of 2007, the grid had already been shaken up with a myriad of driver changes. Some of the most important included Kimi Raikkonen replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, and reigning champion Fernando Alonso switching from Renault to McLaren where he was partnered by promising young rookie Lewis Hamilton.

The Spaniard undoubtedly had the momentum after storming to two consecutive world titles, but it was Raikkonen who took pole and the first victory of the season on his Ferrari debut, kickstarting a fantastic rivalry between the Scuderia and McLaren.

In the opening five rounds, the wins were split between the Finn, Alonso and Ferrari’s second driver Felipe Massa, with few people expecting the then 22-year-old Hamilton to seriously challenge his more experienced team mate, despite finishing on the podium in every race.

It was in Round 6 that he claimed his maiden victory – after four Safety Cars and a major crash for BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, the Briton won at the Canadian Grand Prix and subsequently took the lead of the championship.

Another youngster, Sebastian Vettel, joined the grid as Kubica’s replacement, but his arrival – which made waves in the sport for years to come – was somewhat overshadowed by the infamous ‘Spygate’ scandal.

In essence, a Ferrari mechanic illegally provided confidential information to an employee at McLaren – you can find more of the gritty details here, but the controversy had a major impact on the season as the Woking outfit were eventually disqualified from the Constructors’ Championship, effectively handing the title to their Italian rivals.

It was no secret that in the fallout, Hamilton, Alonso and team boss Ron Dennis weren’t the best of friends, but critically, the drivers were permitted to keep their individual points. Heading into the finale, the Briton narrowly led with a total of 107 points and four wins under his belt.

Alonso had 104 points, and Räikkönen was a further four behind on 100 – the sole Ferrari contender needed not only one of his best races of the year, but also had to rely on his competitors falling apart.

What happened in the 2007 finale?

At the Brazilian Grand Prix – Abu Dhabi didn’t host a finale until 2009 – none of the top three claimed pole position, with Massa instead securing his ninth of the season. Hamilton claimed the next best spot of P2, followed by the Finnish driver in third and Alonso in fourth to ensure that it was very much all to play for.

The Ferrari pair got a much better launch at lights out, allowing Räikkönen to charge past the Briton before Alonso did exactly the same thing. An attempt to repass his team mate saw Hamilton lock up and drive wide, rejoining the track in eighth place. But his reputation for fighting back through the field didn’t come from nowhere – he overtook Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld within seven laps before disaster struck.

His McLaren began to painfully slow down as the gearbox failed, and over perhaps the slowest 30 seconds of his career, he fought to bring the car back to life. Eventually, Hamilton was able to reset the machine and get going again, but by that point he found himself in P18.

From Lap 20, the frontrunners began to pit, ending with Massa leading Räikkönen by a few seconds, with Alonso 17 seconds further behind. Hamilton was gradually gaining after choosing to go for a risky three-stop strategy, but he was still over a minute off P1.

The second round of pit stops proved to be pivotal as Räikkönen overcut Massa by stopping three laps later and emerging in the lead of the race. With the final laps approaching, the Ferrari pair continued to extend a comfortable margin over Alonso and were eventually seen lapping Hamilton.

One lap to go and the Briton got another position, improving to seventh place, but it was too little too late. Räikkönen took the chequered flag after a gripping 71 laps, winning the championship by a single point over both Hamilton and Alonso.

Massa was second, securing a fourth 1-2 finish for Ferrari, and Alonso staggered into third over 57 seconds behind the victor.

A record-breaking fight between Alonso, Webber, Vettel and Hamilton in 2010

If you thought a three-way battle for the title was dramatic, how about four? For the first, and currently, only time in F1 history, a quartet of drivers were up to be crowned world number one in the final round of the 2010 season.

Three years on from his 2007 loss, Alonso changed his allegiance to Ferrari and just like Räikkönen before him, won on his debut. Unexpectedly, he owed the victory to Red Bull hotshot Vettel, who was dominating at the season opener in Bahrain until a spark plug issue brought his race to a premature end.

It was a similar story in the next round at Albert Park – the German driver took pole position and was well on his way to his first win of the season, but this time it was a brake problem that saw him retire from the race. Despite his misfortune, he was still doing a pretty good job of showing up his team mate Mark Webber, who started the year with an underwhelming eighth and ninth.

It didn’t take too long for their rivalry to dramatically grow as the Aussie became fired up when he charged to P2 behind Vettel at the Malaysian Grand Prix, motivating him to improve to the top step in Spain and Monaco.

The tension between the pair was palpable, so it seemed somewhat inevitable when they finally collided in Turkey.

While their intra-team battle was boiling over, Alonso and Hamilton were gradually ticking off the rounds, albeit with some fairly inconsistent performances. Everything from strategy and illegal passes to costly crashes and mechanical failures plagued their seasons, but the points nevertheless kept going up and up.

As a result, no one really emerged as the obvious favourite for the championship, but over time both the bad luck and victories were shared between the four contenders, so much so that they arrived in Abu Dhabi with 24 points separating them.

Alonso was in the lead with 246 points, hungry to claim a third title. Webber and Vettel had just seven points between them, with the Aussie ahead on 238. And never to be ruled out, Hamilton began the final round with 222 points, still mathematically in the fight.

What happened in the 2010 finale?

Just like 2025, there were a range of permutations – second place would be enough for the Spaniard to win for Ferrari, and he was undoubtedly in the best form having secured 105 points over the prior five rounds, more than any other driver.

Webber needed to win and see Alonso cross the line in third or lower, while Vettel depended on the Ferrari finishing sixth. Meanwhile, Hamilton faced the most unlikely scenario as he was required to win while his three rivals failed to score, and even then he would only take the championship by a single point.

The Yas Marina Circuit isn’t particularly known for its overtaking opportunities, which was great news for Vettel as he secured an all-important pole position. But his competition wasn’t far behind as Hamilton, Alonso, Jenson Button and Webber lined up just behind him on the grid.

Luckily, Vettel got a strong start and led the field well while Alonso dropped to third. It then didn’t take long for the Safety Car to be deployed as Michael Schumacher spun out of the race and Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi ploughed into him, slowing down the pack.

The pit stops proved to be crucial in this race as Webber boxed on Lap 11 and managed to evade an overcut from Massa, but couldn’t find a way past Alonso, who himself got stuck behind Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg.

While he fought to pass the pair, Vettel and Hamilton continued to extend the gap at the front before they both changed their tyres, with the Red Bull driver remaining ahead. He only had to overtake Button, who had yet to stop, while Hamilton had both Kubica and Kamui Kobayashi in front of him.

Once Button pitted, Vettel was able to make the most of the clean air and eventually crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of Hamilton, but faced an agonising wait while the others caught up. Finally, after what felt like an age for 23-year-old, the iconic radio message “Du bist Weltmeister!” rang out, confirming that Alonso and Webber had finished the race in P7 and P8.

The German hadn’t led the standings at any stage that season, and yet he beat Alonso to the crown by four points.

It took two rounds for Räikkönen to overturn what was a 17-point advantage for Hamilton in 2007. It took Vettel one to recover the 15-point gap to claim his first title in 2010 and set himself on the path to three more.

If they could do it, can Verstappen? Can Piastri? It’s easy to get caught up in the permutations, but the important thing is it all comes down to one final race. We've seen it happen before, and it's not something you want to miss.