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Max Verstappen and winner Lewis Hamilton (front) on the podium - a short time later the Dutchman disappeared from the award ceremony
Photo:
Hassan Ammar / dpa
Scandal on the track - and in the box:
Screaming with his mouth wide open, Toto Wolff threw his headset with full force on the table in front of him. A few seconds earlier, the Head of Mercedes Motorsport had seen a collision between his driver Lewis Hamilton and his opponent Max Verstappen in the Red Bull on the monitor. The race on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, already rich in interruptions, chaotic scenes and accidents, was heading for its inglorious climax: with twelve laps to go, Verstappen suddenly slowed down, Hamilton opened up and damaged the front wing.
The result:
The Red Bull driver had previously been instructed by his team to give Hamilton the position, Hamilton managed to cross the finish line as the winner despite the demolished car, followed by Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. Hamilton and Verstappen go tied for the World Cup final in Abu-Dhabi. Read the race report here.
The start:
Was expected with a somewhat queasy feeling. A few hours before the start of the race there had been a serious accident in Formula 2. Theo Pourchaire couldn't move after the lights went out on the grid, Enzo Fittipaldi from Team Charouz drove the ART of his French rival in the rear. According to the international motor sport association Fia, both drivers were hospitalized and both were conscious. In the premier class, however, all the cars left the starting line without damage. Nothing changed in the position of the top three (Hamilton ahead of Bottas and Verstappen), Verstappen had a better start than Bottas, but the Finn defended his position.
Verstappen's free stop:
Ten laps later, it finally crashed. Mick Schumacher slid into the lane at high speed in his Haas at the exit of Turn 22. Hamilton and Bottas used the subsequent safety car phase to get fresh tires. Verstappen stayed outside and took the lead. A lucky move by Red Bull. As the gang was still being repaired, the race was interrupted three laps later by means of a red flag and the safety car led the drivers into the pit lane. "Does that mean he can change the tires?" Hamilton radioed frantically. The answer was: "Unfortunately, yes".
The
restart
:
The subsequent restart from the start-finish line was initially won by Hamilton, he went into the first corner as the leader. Verstappen countered the attack successfully, but left the track and gained an advantage. Hamilton had to brake so that Esteban Ocon also passed. Meanwhile, there was another crash in the back of the field, including Schumacher's team-mate Nikita Masepin, as well as Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. There was another interruption.
Horse-trading for the starting position:
Then it got absurd. The race management radioed Red Bull, Red Bull to the race management, the race management to Mercedes, with the result: An investigation of the incident and thus presumably a five-second penalty would be waived if Verstappen let Ocon and Hamilton by. Verstappen and Red Bull did that, but put on the slightly faster and softer tires.
The restart: it
went clearly to Verstappen, the Dutchman pulled to the left with medium tires, all three drivers drove side by side for a short time, but Verstappen passed inside; also because Hamilton was not paying attention and not defending. Ocon had to go into the run-off zone after contact with Hamilton, then let Verstappen pass, who initially settled down to 1.3 seconds. After Hamilton was also past the Alpine pilot a little later, a duel developed at the top.
And what a man:
Verstappen defended himself up to lap 37. When Hamilton passed his opponent at high speed in the DRS zone, Hamilton pushed away in turn one. Red Bull advised Verstappen to hand over the lead to Hamilton. As a result, there was a collision. Wolff said after the race that Hamilton didn't know at the time that he was supposed to pass. Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko held against it: Hamilton simply misjudged himself. "I drove more slowly, to the right, he was supposed to overtake - I have no idea what was happening," said Verstappen. "We're trying to race. Today there were more penalties than racing, that's not my Formula 1. "Hamilton said he" didn't quite understand what happened ".
Farewell:
Formula 1 team boss legend Frank Williams thought before the race. The drivers and team bosses lined up on the start-finish straight and said goodbye to Williams. "He was a racer through and through," said former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, who made his debut at Williams in 1994, at the small ceremony more than an hour before the start. A video with scenes from Williams' life was shown, and there was a portrait of the legendary founder of the racing team of the same name on a banner on the asphalt. Williams died last Sunday at the age of 79.
Verstappen flees from the podium:
The situation between the two competitors remained tense at the subsequent award ceremony, at which Verstappen left the podium before taking the photo together.
“There wasn't any champagne.
That wasn't fun, ”he tried to evade with a joke afterwards (in Saudi Arabia people celebrate with rose water).
The Dutchman could face a subsequent penalty: He has to answer to the stewards for the rear-end incident, and Hamilton was also summoned.
“It was on the red line.
It was tough racing, maybe too tough racing, ”said Wolff.