Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen in a chaotic and controversial Saudi Grand Prix to set up an all-inclusive finale in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
The race was halted twice, had three starts and an unusual series of events between the title contenders in one of the most intense major tournaments in years.
Hamilton won by crashing after Verstappen at one point in the race where the Dutchman twice had to give way to the Mercedes driver he had illegally won.
And it ended with the two drivers on points to advance to the final race of the season.
So much happened during the race that it was hard to keep up, as the advantage whirled back and forth between Hamilton and Verstappen.
But in the decisive moment, Verstappen was ordered to give Hamilton the lead as he held on to it by forcing the seven-time champion off the track in Round One with 13 laps away.
But it didn’t happen immediately. Red Bull is said to hand the lead to Hamilton. Verstappen in doing so slowed down when running to the final corner, and Hamilton rushed behind him and damaged his front wing.
They continued with Verstappen leading, until the Dutchman finally took the lead six rounds later.
The nature of Verstappen’s behavior will spark debate about whether it’s fair for him to drive the way he does, consistently refusing to back up in wheel problems, even when people Other drivers realize that their opponent has won the corner.
What happens on Earth out there?
The chaos started when Mick Schumacher crashed his Haas car on turn 22 fast on lap 10.
Hamilton was leading at the time against Bottas and Verstappen, and Mercedes pitted their driver for the tire under the safety car afterwards.
Red Bull stayed out, leaving Verstappen in the lead, followed by Hamilton and Bottas. But then the race was stopped to fix the hurdles.
That gave Verstappen an advantage because the rules allow drivers to change tires during red flags.
In the standing restart, Hamilton started better than Verstappen and took the lead on the first corner.
But Verstappen overtook him by going off the track through the right portion of the left-right track, forcing Hamilton to widen, and Esteban Ocon’s Alpine swooping in between them in second.
But the race was immediately stopped because of two more collisions, one in which Haas driver Nikita Mazepin crashed after George Russell’s Williams, and another in which Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was involved in a crash after the collision. with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Then there were the unusual scenes as Red Bull negotiated with race director Michael Masi over where Verstappen should be at the restart, eventually agreeing that he would finish third behind Ocon and Hamilton.
On the final start, Verstappen fitted a tire that matched Hamilton on hardware, and as Hamilton prepared to overtake Ocon on the first corner, Verstappen threw his Red Bull inside and took the lead.
Hamilton briefly dropped to third behind Ocon, but overtook him at the start of the next lap and hit the road behind Verstappen.
It was clear that Hamilton had added speed and the big part of the race soon followed.
Starting lap 37, Hamilton went out to Verstappen into the first corner and took a slight lead as they turned in.
But Verstappen refused to give in and both went off track, in a moment reminiscent of their controversial incident in Brazil two races ago.
Masi then told Red Bull that Verstappen had to return to position, but when he tried to do so, Hamilton slowed behind him. Verstappen braked sharply, and Hamilton ran into the back of Red Bull and damaged his front wing.
Verstappen said he did not understand why Hamilton did not pass, Hamilton said he did not know why Verstappen pressed the brake.
That incident will be investigated by post-race managers.
Verstappen continued to lead, but eventually let Hamilton into the last corner six laps later and the race was settled.
Verstappen goes into the final race as the championship lead, which, on a return win total, means Hamilton must beat him to win his eighth world title.
More to follow
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