2021 Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix: Hamilton wins chaotic race, levels championship points

The winner of the 2021 Formula One championship will be decided at the final round next weekend after the top two title contenders drew level in a chaotic penultimate race this morning.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will go into the final race of the Formula One championship next weekend on identical points after a “messy”, “chaotic”, and “aggressive” battle in the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this morning – in which both drivers were warned for their behaviour amid numerous on-track clashes.

The pair were separated by eight points – led by Verstappen – going into the penultimate round and had swapped the championship lead five times during the season, but Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG) is now level with Verstappen (Red Bull) after scoring the 103rd win of his F1 career, ahead of second-placed Verstappen.

“There’s aggressive, determined fiesty racing, and then there’s what we saw this evening, which was too much,” said former Formula One driver and Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle.

While Hamilton and his teammate Valtteri Bottas led the first 10 laps of the 50-lap race, Verstappen inherited the lead after the Mercedes-AMG pairing made a pit stop for fresh tyres (along with the majority of the F1 field) during the first of what would be many safety car periods, on this occasion triggered after

Mick Schumacher crashed his Haas F1 car into a barrier.

However, after the F1 field followed the safety car for a few laps, a red flag was declared and the race was paused, gifting Verstappen an opportunity to fit fresh tyres – as all teams were obliged to return to the pits while officials repaired the deformable barrier struck by Schumacher.

When the race restarted – from the grid, rather than a rolling start – Hamilton got the jump on Verstappen, but the Red Bull driver snatched first place after driving off the circuit in the first chicane.

It was a short-lived victory for Verstappen – and he would eventually be forced to give back the position as he made the gain off the circuit – because two separate pile-ups involving Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Nikita Mazepin (Haas) behind the leading pack stopped the race for a second time.

And so it was after lap 16, the F1 field again returned to the pits while damaged cars and debris were cleared from the perilously narrow and fast 6km street circuit which leaves little room for error.

During the pause in proceedings, Verstappen was ordered to surrender the lead and start from grid position three – to correct his unfair overtake on Hamilton during the previous restart.

When racing resumed – again from a standing start rather than a rolling start – Verstappen had a blinding launch and overtook Hamilton on the inside of the first chicane while Hamilton was distracted defending against Esteban Ocon (Alpine), who led the trio into the first turn.

Verstappen quickly overtook Ocon to take the lead – and Hamilton overtook Ocon on the next lap – which positioned the two championship contenders as the first two cars on the road, and clear of the rest of the field.

With Verstappen struggling to maintain a narrow one-second lead over Hamilton, it promised a thrilling battle.

But a series of incidents involving back-markers repeatedly paused the race under safety car conditions – as officials cleared debris from cars that had bumped into each other or clipped the barriers.

The frequent interruptions upset the rhythm of the race and allowed many drivers to preserve their energy and their tyres.

Commentator and 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill summed up the mood of race fans when he told Sky Sports: “Are they going to win this championship lap by lap here? How long do we have to endure this? Absolutely incredible. I think we might be getting a late bus home. What drama, and a lot of calculations. I think it’s been really stressful for the (racing) stewards and also for the team bosses as well.”

The battle came to a head on lap 37 after Hamilton and Verstappen clashed as Hamilton attempted a passing move in the first chicane. 

Later on the same lap, Hamilton then ran into the back of Verstappen when the Red Bull driver was instructed to surrender the position due to the earlier altercation.

Of the rear-end crash between Hamilton and Verstappen, F1 commentator and former racer Martin Brundle told Sky Sports: “Red Bull will say ‘we tried to give the place back and he ran into us,’ and Mercedes will say ‘dangerous driving, he brake-tested us’.”

F1 commentators debated whether it was a deliberate slowdown by Verstappen, but after the race Hamilton confirmed he wasn’t notified by his team until after the collision that he was allowed to retake the lead.

Hamilton told F1 broadcasters: “I didn’t understand why all of a sudden he hit the brakes … quite heavily and then I ran into the back of him, and then he moved on so I didn’t understand exactly what was going on. I got a message afterwards that he was going to let us pass, so it was a bit confusing.”

After being awarded driver of the day by online viewers, Verstappen told F1 broadcasters: “Luckily the fans have a clear mind about racing, because what happened today is unbelievable. I was trying to race. This sport is more about penalties than racing. So for me this is not Formula One, but at least the fans enjoyed it and I gave it all today.”

Verstappen later added: “I was just downshifting and braking for (Hamilton) to go by, and then at one point he runs into my back. I was just looking in the mirror and waiting for him to pass. Maybe there was some confusion going on. They told me just to give the position.

Although footage appeared to show Verstappen wriggling the steering wheel just prior to being shunted from behind by Hamilton, Verstappen said:

“I was already off the racing line.”

Post-race analysis showed both drivers slowed at the same point on the circuit just prior to the nose-to-tail incident – Verstappen appeared to slow to allow Hamilton to pass, at the same time as Hamilton’s team was asking race officials if Hamilton was clear to pass.

F1 commentator and former champion Damon Hill, who was initially critical of Verstappen, later said: “It does look to me like it’s a less malicious move by Max than we first saw.”

As racing resumed, Verstappen and Hamilton again swapped the lead – on laps 42 and 43 – but Hamilton emerged with the faster car, despite nursing a front wing that was damaged in the nose-to-tail clash with Verstappen.

After the race, Verstappen said his Red Bull race car struggled for grip with deteriorating tyres.

Verstappen held onto second place despite being hit with a five-second penalty after one of the earlier clashes with Hamilton.

Both drivers pushed the limits of their cars – and the rules – at various times as they made each other run wide on the circuit.

“It’s been a dirty race in terms of tactics,” said Brundle, who added that if Verstappen is deemed to have “brake-tested” Hamilton when instructed to surrender the lead, “he’s a been a naughty boy”.

“Max Verstappen has got to think about this driving standards,” Brundle said in his earlier assessment of the race.

After the race, while F1 commentators were increasingly of the view there was confusion from Hamilton’s side – and that Verstappen did not deliberately brake-test his title rival – Hamilton began getting fired up.

Damon Hill, often a vocal critic of Verstappen, told F1 broadcasters: “I really can’t see that Max did anything particularly wrong there, in that case. He may have slowed down a little bit abruptly when he saw the (push-to-pass activation zone) line to get Lewis to go past, but I think Lewis was nervous of going alongside, while he didn’t know what was going on.”

After the race Hamilton took another swipe at Verstappen, telling Sky Sports: “I’ve raced a lot of drivers through my life. In the 28 years I’ve come across a lot of different characters, and there’s a few at the top which are kind of, yeah, over the limit, rules kind of don’t apply, or don’t think of the rules.”

Hamilton added: “Today I just tried to do my talking on the track, keep the car between the right lines and do it the right way.”

When asked by Sky Sports if Hamilton was talking about Verstappen when referring to drivers who think the rules don’t apply to them, Hamilton said: “He’s over the limit for sure. I’ve avoided a collision on so many occasions with the guy, and I don’t always mind being the one that does that, because you live to fight another day, which I obviously did.”

As the two title contenders now have zero points between them – 369.5 and 369.5 – whoever finishes in front of the other in the final race of the 22-round season at Abu Dhabi next weekend will win the 2021 F1 championship, and bring an end to the V6 turbo hybrid era before switching to new racing regulations next year.

Despite the on-track chaos, it was evident Hamilton had the faster car despite running on harder-wearing tyres than Verstappen, who struggled to keep pace on medium-wearing tyres, which initially gave the Red Bull a grip advantage over the Mercedes, but then deteriorated more quickly.

Racing experts – who have likened this year’s championship battle to the Alain Prost versus Aryton Senna era in the late 1980s – believe Hamilton is now on track to notch up a record eighth F1 championship, if he can maintain his current pace.

“I tried to be as sensible and as tough as I could be out there, keep the car on the track and stay clean,” Hamilton told F1 broadcasters. “We’ve had all sorts of things thrown at us (this season).”

Verstappen summed up his performance in Saudi Arabia with: “Clearly not quick enough, but still happy with second.”

Australian F1 driver Danial Ricciardo (McLaren) finished fifth  – after qualifying 11th fastest – after gaining track position by staying out on the circuit when others made a pit stop early in the race during the first safety car period.

Ricciardo had made up two spots on the opening lap – and climbed to eighth place on lap eight after overtaking Pierre Gasly – but stayed out on the circuit when the safety car period was called on Lap 10.

When race officials upgraded the safety car period to a red flag – requiring all race cars to return to pit lane while the barrier damaged by Schumacher’s Haas was repaired – it delivered Ricciardo the same advantage it delivered Verstappen.

As with Verstappen, Ricciardo’s gamble paid off as he was able to fit fresh tyres without needing to surrender track position at that point in the race.

Ricciardo was able to hold onto fifth place despite the two restarts and subsequent safety car periods, while his younger teammate Lando Norris qualified seventh but finished 10th.

The fastest lap of the race (1:30.734) was set by Hamilton on lap 47 of the 50-lap race.

The final race of the 22-round season will be held in Abu Dhabi next weekend.

Data below supplied by F1.com, compiled by Emma Notarfrancesco.

Race results: Round 21, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Position Driver Team
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes-AMG
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes-AMG
4 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault
5 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes
6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari
9 Antonio Giovanazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari
10 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes
12 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes
13 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault
14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda
15 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari
DNF Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes
DNF Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing-Honda
DNF Nikita Mazepin Haas-Ferrari
DNF George Russell Williams-Mercedes
DNF Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari

2021 Drivers’ Championship after Round 21, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Position Driver Team Pts
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 369.5
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes-AMG 369.5
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes-AMG 218
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing-Honda 190
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 158
6 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 154
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 149.5
8 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 115
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 100
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 77
11 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 72
12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 43
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 34
14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda 20
15 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 16
16 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 10
17 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 7
18 Antonio Giovanazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 3
19 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 0
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas-Ferrari 0

2021 Constructors’ Championship after Round 21, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Position Team Pts
1 Mercedes 587.5
2 Red Bull Racing-Honda 559.5
3 Ferrari 307.5
4 McLaren-Mercedes 269
5 Alpine Renault 149
6 AlphaTauri-Honda 120
7 Aston Martin-Mercedes 77
8 Williams-Mercedes 23
9 Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 13
10 Haas-Ferrari 0

The post 2021 Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix: Hamilton wins chaotic race, levels championship points appeared first on Drive.

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Google+

Related : 2021 Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix: Hamilton wins chaotic race, levels championship points