After the race, Hamilton rides the next attack on Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton proudly displays his trophy. Max Verstappen doesn’t even look
What: REUTERS
Formula 1 is about to have the most exciting finale in its history. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen go into the final race with the same number of points after the Chaos Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. The duel has long been one with words.
Dhe title fight in Formula 1 goes to the limit. Or even beyond. After Lewis Hamilton’s 103rd career victory at the chaotic Grand Prix premiere in Saudi Arabia, the motorsport premier class is getting its grand finale. The Mercedes driver and Max Verstappen from Red Bull, who finished second, are going into the last race of the season with the same number of points (369.5). It is not unlikely that there will be another crash in Abu Dhabi on Sunday in this intense World Cup duel.
In Jeddah, the two exceptional pilots also performed exceptional maneuvers – as far as the uncompromising factor is concerned. Verstappen received a five-second penalty for his toughness in lap 37 and subsequently a ten-second penalty for an action that really upset Hamilton. He let his anger run wild at the opponent and this time attacked Verstappen verbally. The Dutchman was “definitely over the limit”, said the 36-year-old Englishman and stated that it was only because of his foresight that there had not been a crash on the track earlier: “I avoided so many collisions with him.”
In the said scene, Hamilton Verstappen raced into the stern. The Red Bull driver had previously left the track without permission and, on the instructions of his team, was supposed to let the Briton pass again in order to avoid a penalty. Hamilton found it “confusing” that Verstappen suddenly slowed down, and raced into his rear. With a damaged front wing, the seven-time world champion managed to cross the finish line before his opponent.
Red Bull sees the mistake in Hamilton
“I wanted to let him pass, so I’m on the right side, but he didn’t want to overtake and then we touched,” said Verstappen, who currently feels Formula 1 is too fixated on penalties. “I don’t really understand what happened there.”
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko accused the rulers of discrimination. “You cannot measure with two different standards. If a seven-time world champion misjudges himself, that can happen, but not to our detriment, ”said Marko and clearly saw the mistake in Hamilton.
World championship fight down to the knife: Verstappen (left) and Hamilton (center) duel in a curve. Right: Esteban Ocon’s Renault
Quelle: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
The world championship fight is intense – and is heading towards its final. With the next crash? “I don’t think it will escalate,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. “Today there were so many warning shots for everyone involved that it will and has to go off cleanly. Nobody can afford to come up with a result that was not achieved on the track. “
Should Verstappen and Hamilton fail in the last race of the year, the 24-year-old from the Netherlands would be world champion for the first time because he has won one Grand Prix this season (9: 8) than the seven-time title holder. There is a risk of a crash.
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