Verstappen and Hamilton enter the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tied on 269.5 points, se🅠tting up a winner-takes-all showd🦹own to decide the 2021 F1 world champion. 

In his pre-event notes, Masi has reminded drivers that “any💛 infringement of the principles of fairness in competition, behaviour in an unsportsmanlike manner or attempt to influence the result of a competition in a way that is contrary to sporting ethics” coul🔥d be punished. 

Article 12.4.5 states: “For all the FIA Championships, cups, challenges, trophies or series, the stewards may also decide to imp🐬ose the following penalties: Suspension for one or more Competitions, withdrawal of points for the Championship, cup, challenge, trophy, series.”

However, a championship points deduction would only be issuꦫed in "exceptional circu꧂mstances". 

Due to holding a tie-break advantage by virtue of winning one more race than Hamilton, Verstappen would be crowned world champion in any scenario that the pair ended the ꧅season level on pꦜoints, including a race-ending collision. 

That means that even an in-race penalty would not prevent Verstappen ༺;from winning the title if he was found to be at fault for causing a crash with Hamilton. 

Verstappen and Hamilton have previously crashed at Silverstone and Monza, while last weekend’s🉐 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix featured several controver♏sial clashes that saw the Red Bull driver pick up two time penalties. 

The incidents have raised the prospect of the wo𒆙rld championship potentially being decided in contentious circumstances.