The permutations for Hamilton & Verstappen in world title Abu Dhabi finale

Hamilton or Verstappen outscore each other

Whoever finishes ahead of each other in the top ten will become World Champion unless they finish in P9 and P10. In case of P9 and P10 for the two title rivals, the point for the fastest lap is still important. If that point goes to Verstappen in tenth (with Hamilton in P9), they score the same amount of points and Verstappen is the champion because the Dutchman has more wins in the season. 

Verstappen scores as many points as Hamilton

In case Verstappen finishes ninth and Hamilton tenth with the fastest lap, both drivers score two points. In this case, the two drivers remain on equal ground and the world title goes to Verstappen based on his number of wins in 2021 (nine versus Hamilton's eight). This scenario also applies the other way around, if Verstappen finishes tenth with the fastest lap and Hamilton on P9.

Hamilton scores more points than Verstappen

Hamilton can only become world champion in one scenario and that is if he scores more points than Verstappen. To do this he needs to finish ahead of the Dutchman and score more points. If Hamilton finishes ahead of Verstappen and achieves at least P8, he will be okay. In case of P9 and P10 for the two title rivals the point for the fastest lap is important. If that point goes to the number ten then they score the same amount of points and Verstappen is the champion. If the number ten does not score the point for the fastest lap, the number nine will automatically take more points.

Hamilton and Verstappen have no points

Then of course there is one last scenario which fans of the sport don't hope for. Suppose both drivers fail to score points due to a crash or other inconvenience, then the score will remain as it is now. In that case, the world title will go to Verstappen as well, since he will have the advantage in the number of race wins.