‘Verstappen vs Hamilton, Abu Dhabi 2021 Again’: Five Storylines to Watch in Sunday’s Malaysian GP
The last time this exact front-row pairing showed up — Verstappen and Hamilton — was Abu Dhabi 2021, when the two were trading blows for a title down to the final corner. Nine years on, the scenery has changed completely (furnace heat, abrasive Asian tarmac, a new team for Hamilton), but the pitch is the same: a rare chance for Formula 1’s usual script to take a back seat to something that actually feels unscripted.
Behind the headline duo, at least four other storylines are worth your Sunday. Mercedes still can’t explain why its shiny new upgrade is working backwards in Sepang — and teams that start the weekend asking “why” rarely have an answer before Sunday night. Isack Hadjar fought his way to third in qualifying despite a five-place grid penalty, which only confirms the old racing truth: a genuinely good car can paper over even your own mistakes.
The track itself remains the biggest wildcard — nine years off the calendar and a surface so rough drivers have started reaching for sandpaper comparisons. Throw in the fact that Sepang’s return comes after such a long absence, and the whole race weekend starts to look like a live experiment with twenty expensive guinea pigs.
Source: Formula1.com (https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/what-to-watch-for-in-the-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia.aO9imDCkBJFLUatxTR1v0)
