Lewis Hamilton has won the first-ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a manic stop-start battle between the Championship title fighters.
After several safety cars and two red flag stops, the British driver came home first to equal Max Verstappen in the Championship Standings.
The heart-stopping battle will now continue right to the last race of the season, with all bets off on who will clinch the 2021 title win.
Speaking after the race, Lewis Hamilton said: “I’ve been racing here a long time but that was incredibly tough.
“I tried to be as tough as I could be out there but also sensible and with all my race experience over the years, just keeping the car on track and staying clean.
“It was difficult but we preserved as a team and we had all sorts of things thrown at us, particularly in the second half of the season, and so I’m just really proud of everyone.”
Speaking about the near-collision between himself and Verstappen, Hamilton said: “I didn’t understand why all of a sudden he hit the brakes pretty heavily.
“Then I ran into the back of him.
“Then he moved on so I didn’t understand what was going on, but I got a message afterward that he was going to let us past.
“So it was a bit confusing.”
Meanwhile, the Red Bull driver in second on the podium this evening didn’t have many positive words and insisted:
“What happened today is unbelievable and this sport is more about penalties than racing.
“For me, this is not Formula 1.”
Joining them on the podium was the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, who said: “I just kept pushing. It wasn’t easy to overtake today but finally, at the last straight I got third.”
More to follow.
