MOTORSPORTS

› The increasingly tense Formula One title fight between reigning champion Lewis Hamilton and his formidable challenger, Max Verstappen, will head to the last race of the season with the fierce rivals level on points. Next weekend’s Abu Dhabi showdown will end with Mercedes’ Hamilton crowned for a record eighth time or Red Bull’s Verstappen toasting his first title. Hamilton’s nail-biting win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday was the 36-year-old British driver’s third straight — and 103rd of his storied career — to pull him level with Verstappen at 369.5 points. Hamilton currently shares the record for career titles with Michael Schumacher at seven, but he is within touching distance of standing alone among F1 greats. Verstappen, a 24-yearold Dutchman, still leads this season’s title chase by a hair’s breadth because his nine wins in 2021 are one more than Hamilton has. Hamilton passsed Verstappen with six laps remaining in Sunday’s race, with Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas finishing third.