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A chaotic race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit saw Lewis Hamilton take the victory to level the playing field ahead of the final round of the 2021 F1 season.
The two championship protagonists collided with each other as Max Verstappen eventually allowed Hamilton to overtake him as the Brit went on to win the race.
Starting Grid
Mercedes locked out the front row with championship battler Lewis Hamilton in first with Valtteri Bottas in second. Max Verstappen’s collision with the barrier at the end of Q3 saw him start from third with Charles Leclerc alongside the Dutchman on the second row of the grid.
Sergio Perez started from fifth, Pierre Gasly in sixth, Lando Norris in seventh, Yuki Tsunoda in eighth, Esteban Ocon in ninth and Antonio Giovinazzi in 10th.
Daniel Ricciardo narrowly missed out on the top 10 as he was 11th with Kimi Raikkonen in 12th, Fernando Alonso in 13th, George Russell in 14th, Carlos Sainz in 15th, Nicholas Latifi in 16th, Sebastian Vettel in 17th, Lance Stroll in 18th, Mick Schumacher in 19th and Nikita Mazepin in 20th.
As It Happened
Bottas got a good getaway off the line but Hamilton held onto first into turn one. Perez and Leclerc had a battle for fourth with the Monegasque driver holding onto the position.
Alonso moved into the points as he overtook Giovinazzi for 10th. Behind them, Stroll and Russell scrapped for 16th with the former able to keep the latter at bay.
After five laps of racing, Hamilton led the race with Bottas in second, Verstappen in third, Leclerc in fourth, Perez in fifth, Norris in sixth, Ocon in seventh, Gasly in eighth, Ricciardo in ninth and Alonso in 10th.
The Alpine of Alonso made up positions early but dropped down the order as Giovinazzi and Sainz overtook the experienced Spaniard.
On lap 10, Schumacher went into the barriers at the turn 21/22 complex as the Safety Car was deployed. Hamilton and a few other drivers made their stops with Verstappen staying out to claim the lead of the race.
Two laps later, the race was red-flagged as the drivers returned back to the pit lane and the barrier was replaced.
From the restart, Hamilton got a perfect getaway as the duo battled into turn one. The Dutchman ran off the track as he gained an advantage with Ocon moving into second ahead of Hamilton. Perez, Mazepin and Russell were all in the wars as the trio were forced to retire with the race red-flagged after a matter of corners.
After a third standing start, Verstappen got a flying start as he dived down the inside of the battling Ocon and Hamilton. The Dutchman overtook the latter before claiming the lead of the race a corner later.
However, Hamilton needed to stay within touching distance of Hamilton which saw the Brit overtake Ocon on the next lap.
The title-contending duo traded the fastest laps as they pulled away from the rest of the field within a couple of laps. Down into turn one, Tsunoda and Vettel squabbled for position which saw them collide on the exit of the corner and the Virtual Safety Car was released.
At the midway point of the race, the green flag was waved again as Verstappen led the race. Hamilton followed in second with Ocon in third, Ricciardo in fourth, Bottas in fifth, Gasly in sixth, Giovinazzi in seventh, Sainz in eighth, Leclerc in ninth and Stroll in 10th.
Moments later, Tsunoda was awarded a five-second time penalty for his collision with Vettel whilst the German was involved in another incident. The Aston Martin driver and Raikkonen came together which saw both drivers sustain damage to their cars.
This saw the Virtual Safety Car released twice as the debris needed to be swept off the track by the marshals.
With 13 laps to go, Hamilton looked incredibly close to Verstappen as he looked to make the move done. The Dutchman did not yield as he ran off the track and maintained his lead.
At the end of that exact lap, the Red Bull driver slowed down to let Hamilton past but the Brit ran into the back of Verstappen’s car as he accelerated away.
Bottas overtook Ricciardo for fourth place as he hunted down a potential podium finish with Ocon not too far ahead with 10 laps to go.
On lap 42, Verstappen allowed Hamilton to go through but regained the lead back on the exit of turn 27 as the Brit went deep into the corner. However, to make matters worse for the Dutchman, he was handed a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage as he defended the lead on lap 37.
The very next lap, the Mercedes man got past the Red Bull driver into turn 27 as he went onto control the rest of the race out in front.
Bottas and Ocon battled for the final podium place for the last few laps of the race with the Mercedes man claiming third on the line.
It was Hamilton who claimed an important win to level the playing field ahead of the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi. An unhappy Verstappen finished the race in second with Bottas in third place.
Ocon, Ricciardo, Gasly, Leclerc, Sainz, Giovinazzi and Norris rounded out the top 10 finishers after a very chaotic Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
What’s Next?
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen go into the final race of the 2021 F1 season level-pegging as one of them look to be crowned world champion, but who will it be? That’s the question on everyone’s minds.
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