The Formula 1 World Cup will reach its final race with the two contenders tied at 369.5 points. Unpublished, historical and worthy of the wettest screenwriter in Hollywood . This was ruled out at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix , where the coldness of Lewis Hamilton defeated the madness of Max Verstappen . The Englishman added his third straight victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ahead of the Dutch in a race that Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso finished eighth and thirteenth, respectively.
Chaos was suspected on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and chaos was on the shores of the Red Sea . In the first 16 laps, three different starts were held due to various incidents. At times the race was a visit to the casino and Red Bull all the charms worked because Verstappen made up for his disappointment in qualifying by tossing a coin into the air. Heads for the Dutchman and tails for Hamilton at the beginning. Everything would change later.
The start of the race was clean, but the action quickly muddied, specifically on the tenth lap, when Mick Schumacher hit the wall. Hamilton opted to change tires and the race direction waved a fateful red flag for the Englishman, who yielded the lead to Verstappen . All the drivers to the ‘pits’ and back to the asphalt for the second exit, where Ocon surprised by placing first.
The clash between Sergio Pérez and Mazepin in this new start caused the second red flag. Again the drivers to the garage and a second visit to the Red Bull casino, which opted to install medium tires on Verstappen’s car. Driven by more favorable tires, the World Championship leader made a brilliant start to pass Hamilton and Ocon .
This guy is fucking crazy!
The heads-up between the two contenders for the title then began. It was quiet for 20 laps, until Verstappen freaked out and deployed all sorts of dirty maneuvers to protect his lead. Even his own team spoiled his behavior on the radio. The ‘Mad Max’ show began at turn 37, when he went off track to avoid being overtaken by Hamilton . Directing the race forced him to give up first place and what he did was deliberately brake when the Englishman was glued to his wheel. They touched and the seven-time world champion was about to lose the front wing. “This guy is fucking crazy!” The Englishman shouted over the radio, after being surprised and pissed off.
Then came the five-second penalty for his departure from the track to Verstappen , who starred in another chatter when he had to be overtaken by Hamilton. He gave up the position and immediately afterwards he pressed the accelerator again to place himself first, without granting the necessary margin for the British to establish his leadership. Toto Wolff laughed for not crying in the Mercedes garage. Too much histrionics for an Austrian. Hamilton , who never entered the delirious game of his rival, regained the first place in compliance with the established and launched for a deserved victory in front of Verstappen , second. The podium was completed by Valtteri Bottas , who overtook Ocon in the same final stretch.
Although he did not manage to avoid his defeat in a feverish race, Verstappen will arrive with a slight advantage to Yas Marina , since if the two candidates for the title do not manage to score, perhaps due to a clash that would not be strange after what was seen in Saudi Arabia , his would be the glory. For his part, Hamilton will face D-Day motivated after a great comeback that has put him on the brink of the eighth world title, that door that not even Michael Schumacher managed to cross. If he finishes ahead of his opponent he will be even more legendary.
As for the Spanish riders, Carlos Sainz made a great comeback to eighth position just behind his teammate Charles Leclerc , with Daniel Ricciardo (5th) and Pierre Gasly (6th) ahead of both. Furthermore, it was too late to forget Fernando Alonso , who was second to last after a spin that made him lose positions, culminating in a weekend where he was never comfortable with his Alpine .
