So far, very close: we borrow a film title from the incredible Wim Vendor to understand how it feels when you are first on the list of only one Grand Prix from the end, but rival, bitter and paired. Level score. And opportunity. Of hatred. Animosity, more than that. Max Verstappen and Louis Hamilton are people who can play tricks on a vague level. It remains to be seen whether the two will enjoy their opponent’s defeat more than their own. Lookbreaks? Not only that; As Emerson FittyPaldi said a few days ago, tension can be strategized when the final action is shown with the same credentials as the enemy, because after we see them, Max and Lewis are not just rivals. Fitipaldi, not any one; The two World Cups he won during the reign of the steering wheel gods in Formula One were not so significant, the second being, in 1974, he also played in the final race. Ferrari driver Clay Regasoni’s 52 points, the exemplary Swiss Gascon, among them Enzo Ferrari, “a weaver, dancer, footballer, tennis player and driver in his spare time.”

2021, 1974: Two heartbreaking World Championships

On Sunday Yas Marina will be awarded 369.50 points each, or helmets, Hamilton and Verstappen, as everything has changed in the meantime, with the number of matches and scoring systems changing, but not the narrow margin between win and loss. The iris of the title and the brilliant second place anonymity of brass. On that day, October 6, 1974, even the third wheel could win, his 45 points: Jodie Shaker, Tyrell’s South African. The official qualification of the three world champions starts late: Scheckter (Tyrrell 007 Cosworth DFV, Elf Team Tyrrell) for the sixth time and FitzPaldi (McLaren M23-Cosworth DFV, Marlboro Team-8Texaco32Brazza3,2007) Ferrari Spafat Sefaat. The track for the US Grand Prix is ​​always favorable for Ferrari, but the race from the first laps seems to be a test for Regasoni: the mustachioed Swiss run like a revolutionary at times that do not coincide with his best days; Pulling to the back; Alleged abnormal wear of the tread tread due to incorrect adjustment of the suspension. After all, Regason gives the impression that he’s going to stop believing in it as soon as possible, so he’s finally finished eleventh, four laps behind the winner, Carlos Rootman, his weekend star at Brabham Course. At the same time, fifteen laps have to be surrendered for the rest. FittiPaldio with Rockstar Sidebone? Well, he’s the author of a strategy that avoids unnecessary risks. Travel like an expert navigator to a world championship landing. He finished fourth and collected three points: the perfect number, because they were enough to make him the world champion again. All the details, in the end, worked in his favor. Whatever happens, Sunday at Yas Marina is no different, with two men competing for the brightest point on the horizon each time.