Sebastian Vettel can win the world championship without even finishing on the podium in the remaining seven races.

In the constructors’ championship, McLaren could finish first and second in all the remaining races and still lose the title to Red Bull.

But while the tension may have gone at the sharp end of the championships, there are five key contests elsewhere to watch closely.

Runner-up

Sometimes euphemistically called ‘vice-champion’, perhaps more accurately referred to as ‘first loser’, no F1 driver starts the season hoping to finish second.

But with any realistic hope of beating Vettel to the championship gone, the four-way battle for second place reveals much about his closest rivals.

Team mate Mark Webber leads the way followed by Fernando Alonso, who’s been impressive all year in a car that’s only occasionally been in the hunt for victory.

Compare that to team mate Felipe Massa, who has less than half of Alonso’s total.

Behind them are the two McLaren drivers and it’s something of a surprise that neither of them feature in the top three.

Lewis Hamilton in particular has thrown points, podiums and even potential wins away with misjudged moves and crashes – as was all too obvious on Sunday.

Jenson Button has had to retire twice due to a car problem – that might not sound like much but it’s one more than all the other drivers in the championship top six combined.

With seven rounds to go and 21 points covering this quartet there’s still everything to play for. Who do you think will take the not-at-all coveted P2?

Team battle one: Mercedes

Driver Points Nico Rosberg 56 Michael Schumacher 42

Has the balance of power at Mercedes finally swung in favour of the old master?

Michael Schumacher’s impressive run from last to fifth at Spa, capturing the final place from his own team mate, certainly suggests so.

Although Schumacher is 10-1 down against his team mate in qualifying, he has fared rather better on Sundays, where Rosberg is 5-4 up on race finishes.

Going into the final seven Grands Prix, Rosberg leads Schumacher by 14 points. Who’s going to come out on top in this one?

Team battle two: Toro Rosso

Driver Points Sebastien Buemi 12 Jaime Alguersuari 10

The pressure on the Toro Rosso drivers to performs remains strong. Daniel Ricciardo is learning the F1 ropes at HRT and another Red Bull Development Driver, Jean-Eric Vergne, is well on the way.

Jaime Alguersuari has transformed his season after a difficult start to the year. He has got to grips with the new tyres and got on terms with his team mate. At Spa he produced his best qualifying performance to date, only to be taken out through no fault of his own at the start.

He’s just two points behind team mate Sebastien Buemi. Whoever loses out in this one could find their F1 future in jeopardy. Who will it be?

The midfield

Team Points Sauber 35 Force India 32 Toro Rosso 22

James Key jumped ship from Force India to become Sauber’s technical director last year.

But his C30 is at risk of being overhauled by the VJM04 in the constructors’ standings.

This battle has parallels in the drivers’ championship. Adrian Sutil, who made a faltering start to the season, is closing in on Kamui Kobayashi thanks to two big points hauls in the last three races.

Behind them it’s the battle of the rookies: Paul di Resta versus Sergio Perez, the pair currently tied on eight points each.

Nor should we discount Toro Rosso, who are within range of the two teams in the constructors’ championship.

Force India have finished seventh in the last two seasons. Can they go one better this year?

The battle at the back

Team 13th 14th 15th Lotus 2 2 2 HRT 1 0 0 Virgin 0 2 2

On pure performance, the battle between Lotus, HRT and Virgin is not close at all: Lotus’s deficit to the fastest car each weekend is at least 1% less than that of the other two.

What makes this battle worth keeping an eye on is the high potential for an upset and the particular importance of it to the three teams involved.

Tenth place in the championship brings significant prize money which would be a boost to any of these three outfits, while 11th and 12th places are unrewarded.

With none of the three likely to score points, their ranking is decided by who has the highest finishing position in a race. And it could be decided by something as random as a first-corner crash.

Sound unlikely? It nearly happened in Canada, where Vitantonio Liuzzi’s 13th place moved HRT in front of Virgin. Had one more car in front of Liuzzi dropped out, HRT would be tenth at the moment.

Lotus have two 13th places so they’re ahead for now. But reliability is their vulnerability – seven technical retirements is the most of any team this year – and on a day when several of the front runners drop out that could be their undoing.

Who do you think will come out on top in these battles? And who else are you keeping an eye on in the championships?

Have your say in the comments.

2011 F1 season



Images ?�?� Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, McLaren, Motioncompany