Jet-lagged F1 circus ready for final showdown

Just five days after winning in Las Vegas, Max Verstappen will climb into his Red Bull for the final time this year on Friday when he begins his bid for another record-extending triumph at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Like the rest of a weary Formula One circus, the three-time world champion will be fatigued and probably struggling with jet lag following a 12-hour time difference switch after four consecutive races in the Americas.

READ | Max Verstappen's Las Vegas win yet to be appreciated in an 'underdeveloped' car

Verstappen's win on 'Sin City's' neon-lit street circuit was his 18th in 21 races this season and the 53rd of his career.

It brought him level with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel in the record books and only Michael Schumacher on 91 wins and Lewis Hamilton on 103 lie ahead.

With team-mate Sergio Perez finishing third, behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, the outcome in Nevada confirmed Red Bull's first one-two finish in the drivers' championship ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, the team having won the constructors' title by more than 400 points to claim a memorable double.

It is the first time since 2015 that the top three places in the drivers' title race have been settled before the season finale.

Fighting for scraps

The fact that no other team has yet claimed 400 points - compared to Red Bull's current total of 822 - expresses clearly that advantage they have built this year.

As a result, most attention at the Yas Marina circuit will be on the scraps among the also-rans with Mercedes defending second place in the teams' title race on 392 points against Ferrari on 388, with McLaren in a similar fight with Aston Martin for fourth.

For the teams, the finishing positions are worth millions in prize