Results of the GP of Saudi Arabia 2021

Yesterday Max Verstappen was close to pole position but made a mistake that hit the wall and today starts from P3. Lewis Hamilton starts from pole position and Bottas joins him on the front row.

At the start there is less drama than expected. Everyone gets off to a good start and is careful in the first corners. That’s why the positions remain as they are and we don’t see any crashes yet.

In the laps that follow, Verstappen continues to drive in the wake of Bottas. The status quo is maintained until the tenth round. Then Schumacher drives into the wall and first a safety car comes. Hamilton and Bottas use that to make a pit stop. Verstappen will continue to drive on his old tires, but will take the lead. After that, the stewards decide that a red flag is needed and this allows Verstappen to change tires while the cars are stationary in the pit lane.

The race continues with a standing start behind the red lights. At the restart Hamilton is better away than Verstappen. Max still tries to regain the lead. He succeeds, but cuts the first corner in the process. Ocon takes advantage of the fight and takes P2. Behind it it is chaos and Pérez, Mazepin and Russell crash. The stewards therefore opt for a second red flag.

When the drivers are waiting in the pit lane again, there is a discussion between the teams and the FIA ​​about the fight between Max and Lewis. The FIA ​​makes an offer to Red Bull to let Verstappen start behind Hamilton, so that Max actually returns the spot to his rival. As a result, the grid at the restart is Ocon P1, Hamilton P2, Verstappen P3. Max, meanwhile, switches back to the mediums.

At the second restart, Verstappen is a lot better off. He dives on the inside at Hamilton and Ocon and takes the lead for the second time. Hamilton falls back to P3, but regains second place after one lap. Lewis is then about a second and a half behind Max for the following laps.

Moments later, the rhythm of the race is broken again by Yuki Tsunoda. He drives over Vettel, but ends up in the wall without a front wing. He can come back to the pit lane, but there will be a virtual safety car. Moments later, Vettel and Räikkönen hit each other, resulting in two virtual safety cars.

After another virtual safety car, Hamilton is close behind Verstappen. The Brit tries to catch up, but the two title rivals both get off the track. Verstappen is instructed by his team to return the spot to Hamilton. Max slows down, but Lewis doesn’t understand what is happening and hits the back of the Red Bull, damaging his front wing.

At the end of the race, Verstappen still lets Hamilton pass. However, he still gets a five-second penalty for the incident he tried to make up for. Moments later, Hamilton is still allowed to pass for the lead.

After that, Verstappen’s medium tires are used up and Hamilton can drive away from the Dutchman. Lewis wins the race, Verstappen is second and Valtteri Bottas manages to take third position just before the finish line. That means that Verstappen and Hamilton have as many points as they go into the last race.

Results of the GP of Saudi Arabia 2021