Domenicali: What more do you want in a championship!

With Hamilton chasing a record-breaking eighth title, winning last time out in Russia to retake the lead in the drivers' standings, and Verstappen targeting his first, matters between the two contenders have become quite heated, with their on-track entanglements becoming a season trade mark.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Domenicali has weighed in on the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen as "two fantastic drivers on either side and big tension between two of the most important teams", referring to their respective teams Mercedes and Red Bull.

The F1 chief hopes that this year's title fight would not fizzle out saying: "If you ask that to me, I say that I really hope it goes to the last corner of the last lap in Abu Dhabi! That would be terrific.

"I would say from what I see this year that this is a possibility it could happen and I really hope so for everyone. What's behind that is an incredible fight between two incredible drivers: one who can achieve what no one has been able to achieve and for Max who is trying to fight for his first title.

"Not only that but connected to that the teams are under pressure. No mistakes are possible; then there is reliability which is another factor. What more do you want in a championship!" declared the Italian.

As for the incredible eighth title that would surpass Michael Schumacher's seven, Domenicali said: "I think that records are there be beaten. There has been incredible respect for what Lewis was able to achieve. I remember at that time we said Michael did something that is impossible and now we are here to say that is not.

"That is the beauty of sport. There is always someone to keep the motivation even higher before. I'm pretty sure Michael was an incredible reference for Lewis and Lewis will be a great reference for other drivers but today we witness the incredible and extraordinary success that Lewis was able to achieve," he concluded in awe of Hamilton's achievements.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff gave his perspective on the title fight ahead of this weekend's Round 16 in Turkey: "I think neither driver or neither team can have any comfort in the current situation because there is just no gap in terms of points I think this is going to go very long."

The reality is there are slight differences, as Hamilton tops Verstappen in the drivers' championship table by two points after Sochi, with Mercedes 33 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors' standings with seven races remaining. It's a tight margin as the pendulum at the top of the pecking order swings towards one team and then the other.

Wolff admitted: "I've stopped trying to anticipate whether it´s a historically strong race for us or not because with the new regulation everything has changed so much. But definitely, we knew that Monza and Sochi would come more towards us and the reality is that we are where we are."

His Red Bull counterpart, Christian Horner, is more bullish about the prospects for his team in the slide to the final race at Yas Marina Circuit in December: "There are no more circuits like Monza and Sochi where Mercedes has the upper hand now. [Mercedes] won in Turkey last year but we were both strong in Austin. And then we are always stronger at altitude in Mexico and Brazil.

"Qatar and Saudi Arabia we aren't sure about yet and then there's Abu Dhabi. So I'd say it's about 50-50 with the remaining tracks," added Horner.

With Mercedes and Red Bull as close as they have ever been, Verstappen has found inspiration in the fact that he arrives at every race weekend as a victory contender, while Hamilton has been in that position for almost a decade.

The pair have collided twice heavily, rubbed wheels on a couple of occasions with unclear rules of engagement, meaning each time they are together on track during a race anything can happen, which pretty much sums up who is where when the floodlights are switched off after the finale at Yas Marina Circuit on 12 December.