Lewis is far from Jedd and buried!
LEWIS HAMILTON showed the fight is far from over on all fronts as he bids to snatch the title from Max Verstappen in this sensational season.
Hamilton overcame the stewards on another extraordinary day for the sport to seal pole position at the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
But it came with a slap on the wrist – while Verstappen crashed out on the final corner of qualifying.
Verstappen leads the drivers’ championship by just eight points with two races remaining but crucially
Hamilton has the upper hand at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Scares
Having won the previous two rounds, Hamilton came here with plenty of momentum.
But he had to survive two penalty scares in final practice before sealing an important pole on a track where overtaking could be at a premium.
The seven-time world champion was hauled in front of the stewards for allegedly disrespecting double-waved yellow flags and impeding the Haas of Nikita Mazepin. But he escaped punishment for the former and was handed a reprimand for the Mazepin incident.
Hamilton had two average sessions before finding speed in the third as he set the provisional pole time.
Verstappen (below), though, hit the track in the closing seconds and was lighting up the time sheets with a fine run. The Dutchman, however, did not complete the lap – sitting more than 0.200 seconds clear he put his Red Bull into the wall at the final corner.
Error
The error means Verstappen will now start third, with both Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas ahead of him.
Hamilton was delighted with the outcome and full of praise for departing Mercedes team-mate Bottas, saying: “This is a great result. This one-two was the goal.
“Valtteri is the best team-mate there’s ever been in the sport.
“We have worked together on the set-up and get the car to where it needs to be.”
Verstappen said: “I didn’t understand what happened, but I locked up... clipped the rear and it is disappointing knowing what lap I was on.”
Charles Leclerc will start fourth for Ferrari, with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez fifth.