F1: Hamilton wins “chaotic” Saudi Arabian GP
Perhaps it was always destined to come down to this, said Tom Cary in The Daily Telegraph: the “most thrilling championship in recent memory” is to be decided by a “winner-takes-all shoot-out”. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are head to head coming into the season’s final race in Abu Dhabi, locked on 369.5 points apiece. Mouthwatering as that prospect is, however, it will be hard to surpass, for sheer drama, the race that brought the two to this point: last Sunday’s inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Held on a “brandnew street circuit” in Jeddah, it encapsulated, in its chaos and unpredictability, the “crazy, confusing season we have experienced”. There were crashes, collisions, and open animosity between the two leading drivers. It ended with a third straight victory for Hamilton, who looks to be carrying all the momentum into Sunday’s final race.
The race was dominated by two big controversies, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. The first occurred on lap 13, when it was halted because a damaged barrier needed repairing. From the restart, Hamilton seized the lead from Verstappen, only for the Dutchman to illegally take it back by cutting a corner – a manoeuvre that also enabled Esteban Ocon to sneak into second place. Seconds later, the race was paused again, when several cars collided further back in the field. Now followed a “startlingly strange exchange between race director Michael Masi and the Red Bull team”, with Masi appearing to negotiate with Verstappen’s team over the restart order. Red Bull eventually agreed for Verstappen to drop down to third, but only if Ocon was ahead of Hamilton – even though Verstappen’s illegal move was what had allowed Ocon to overtake the seven-time champion. It was “double-dealing” that seemed more appropriate to Succession than a major sporting contest.
The other flashpoint occurred on lap 37, when Verstappen (having regained the lead) was again judged to have cut a corner as he prevented Hamilton overtaking him, said Giles Richards in The Guardian. He was ordered to “give the place back”, but when slowing to do so, he caught Hamilton by surprise – and the Englishman briefly rear-ended his Red Bull, damaging his own front wing. A furious Hamilton accused Verstappen of “brake-testing” (a serious offence); Verstappen, handed another penalty, was told to let Hamilton through again. The upshot was that Hamilton gained a decisive advantage – and ended up winning by nearly 12 seconds. Afterwards, Verstappen stormed off the podium, raging that “this sport is more about penalties than racing”. And so this pair head to Abu Dhabi to engage in what may be the defining race of their careers – but with respect between them “at its lowest ebb”.