CONTROVERSIAL RACE LEAVE TITLE RIVALS EQUAL ON POINTS

The battle for the lead in Formula 1 World Championship has tightened right up after a feisty battle in Saudi Arabia.

Lewis Hamilton took the win and the fastest lap for Mercedes to sit equal on points with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished second, heading into the final round of this year’s championship.

Tensions were high heading into the race, but two red-flag stoppages and numerous VSC interruptions saw the pair in lively exchange for the duration of the race.

Hamilton took the lead at the initial race start, however the race was stopped on Lap 13 after Haas’s Mick Schumacher spun and collided with the wall heavily at Turn 22.

The incident on Lap 10 triggered the Safety Car to start with, which saw the majority of the field pit for tyres. However, Verstappen stayed out to his advantage when the race was red flagged to allow for the repairs to the barrier where Schumacher hit.

A full restart triggered chaos, with Hamilton and Verstappen controversially coming to blows as they negotiated the first corners off the circuit.

Behind them, the melee saw Charles Leclerc spin Sergio Perez. The Ferrari driver was able to continue, however the second Red Bull hit the wall hard ending the race for the Mexican.

As the field checked up behind the initial incident, the George Russell (Williams) was drilled by the Nikita Mazepin (Haas). Ending both of their races.

A second red flag was called to clean up the stricken cars and debris.

The race had a full restart for the second time, this time with Verstappen gaining the advantage legitimately and moving into the lead.

Controversy continued however. On Lap 36 a VSC was called to clean up more debris after Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel came to blows in their own battle.

On the restart, Hamilton and Verstappen went side by side through Turn 1, both heading off the circuit in the battle for the lead.

In order to avoid a penalty, Red Bull instructed Verstappen to give the place to Hamilton. However, in slowing to let Hamilton by, the Mercedes driver drove into the back of the Red Bull.

Both drivers continued, with limited damage, but the fiery exchanges continued before Verstappen handed the lead back again which allowed Hamilton to take the win.

Despite receiving a 5s penalty for one of the incidents, Verstappen held on to second place. While the battle for the final spot on the podium was determined at the chequered flag with Valtteri Bottas just sneaking past Esteban Ocon in the final seconds of the race.

Aussie Daniel Ricciardo claimed fifth for McLaren ahead of Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and Lando Norris (McLaren) who rounded out the top ten.

The Formula 1 World Championship now heads to Abu Dhabi for the deciding round of this year’s title.

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