F1'S OLDEST RIVALRY IS THE NEWEST BATTLE

McLaren will clinch first constructors' title since 1998 if they outscore Ferrari by 21 pts

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DOHA - Ferrari and McLaren, Formula One's oldest rivals, take their constructors' title fight into the penultimate round in Qatar this weekend with both battling to end a years-long effort to be champions again.

After Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrated his fourth successive drivers' title in Las Vegas last weekend, the focus switches to a different desert and the hopes of Maranello and Woking.

McLaren - the team of past champions Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton - could clinch their first constructors' crown since 1998 on Dec 1.

To do so, however, they must outscore Ferrari, the most successful team of all time who last won that title in 2008, by 21 points and end Red Bull's slim hopes of another championship double.

Ferrari are 24 points behind McLaren, with Red Bull 53 adrift of the leaders and 103 still to be won - the amount expanded by the last sprint of the season which takes place on Nov 30.

There will be only 44 points going to the following weekend's finale at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina.