Motor racing-Hamilton chasing hat-trick to set up last-race showdown

FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Qatar Grand Prix - Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Qatar - November 21, 2021 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium after winning the race REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/Pool

(Reuters) - Red Bull's Max Verstappen has his first shot at winning the Formula One title in Sunday's inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton is chasing a hat-trick of wins to take the battle down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

Seven-times world champion Hamilton, 36, has closed the gap to his 24-year-old rival to eight points in their clash of the generations after resounding back-to-back wins in Brazil and Qatar.