Are Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in pole position for the F1 2021 championship?

As the 2021 Formula 1 season heads towards its closing stages, the title battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is getting closer and more intense than ever.

After storming to victory in the last two races in Brazil and Qatar, Lewis Hamilton has slashed Verstappen's lead at the top of the driver's championship to just eight points. Meanwhile, Mercedes still maintain a slender advantage of five points over their championship rivals Red Bull F1 in the constructors' championship.

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Should Red Bull F1 be worried?

After securing victory at the Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Red Bull F1 seemed to be favorites for the next race, in Brazil. The popular belief across the paddock was that Mercedes would struggle at the higher altitude of Sao Paolo as they had done in previous seasons, and Red Bull F1 would prevail.

Things didn't go quite as planned for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, though. Lewis Hamilton recovered from a 20-place grid penalty in the sprint race and a five-place grid penalty in the main race to charge through the field and take home the checkered flag.

Max Verstappen was left languishing in second place as Red Bull F1 had no answer to Mercedes' newfound pace, which many attributed to a brand new power unit installed in Lewis Hamilton's car in Brazil.

Hamilton overtakes Verstappen for the lead at the Brazilian GP.

Qatar brought more of the same misery for Red Bull as they were soundly beaten in qualifying. Once again, Verstappen could only manage a second-place finish behind a dominant Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull F1 had more cause for concern though, as it was revealed over the weekend that Hamilton wasn't even using the fresh new power unit which he had added to his pool in Brazil. Instead, he cruised through the weekend using an older and slower unit.

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Are Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton favorites now?

All these factors are pointing towards Mercedes winning the final two races of the season. They have timed the introduction of Lewis Hamilton's new power unit to perfection and the advantage it gave him over the rest of the field was plain to see in Brazil.

The team decided to save this fresh engine for the final two races as the Jeddah and Yas Marina circuits are even more power-sensitive than Qatar. If Mercedes manage to find the straight-line speed advantage that they enjoyed in Brazil, it's becoming increasingly difficult to imagine a scenario where Max and Red Bull F1 come out on top.

Lewis Hamilton after his impressive victory at the Brazilian GP.

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So, is the title done and dusted?

Far from it. This is Formula 1, after all, and it's as unpredictable as any sport can get. The momentum can swing in any direction with the slightest of gains made by either team. As we saw in Qatar, Valtteri Bottas' tire failure allowed Red Bull to close the gap in the constructors' championship right back up.

Such unpredictable incidents could prove fatal for either team's title aspirations at this stage of the game. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said on numerous occasions this season:

"A single DNF [did not finish] can change everything."

Certainly, one would hope that such freak occurrences are not the deciding factor and that we are treated to a worthy final chapter to this amazing season of F1.