2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Lore & Background

Hamilton took pole position by recording the fastest lap time of qualifying. Verstappen, his championship rival, was on pace to lap a faster time, but crashed at the final corner on his final flying lap. The race was stopped twice in the first 20 laps due to separate accidents; prior to the second red flag, Verstappen had assumed the lead because the Mercedes drivers made pit stops, but Hamilton attempted to pass Verstappen in turn one, so Verstappen veered off-course to defend his lead. F1 race director Michael Masi made a deal with Red Bull, permitting Verstappen to restart in third place, behind Esteban Ocon and Hamilton. Verstappen quickly got by the two drivers, but Hamilton gradually built a faster pace and tried to pass him in turn one on lap 37. Verstappen made another aggressive defence and was thus forced to give up his position. However, he braked suddenly in the 26th turn, causing Hamilton to run into his rear. Following another failed defence tactic on lap 42, Verstappen let Hamilton by for good on the next lap. After the race, Verstappen received a five-second time penalty for cutting the second turn and a ten-second time penalty for braking erratically, which did not affect his position.

In Their Own Story

Under the blinding glare of floodlights that turned the Arabian night into day, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit roared with a frantic, almost electric energy. Max Verstappen wrestled his Red Bull RB16B through its narrow confines, the engine screaming as he danced millimeters from the concrete walls. Behind him, Lewis Hamilton's silver Mercedes hunted relentlessly, the gap shrinking lap by agonizing lap in a high-speed cat-and-mouse game where every braking zone was a gamble and every apex a potential catastrophe. As they surged into the final sector, the world narrowed to two cars and a single destiny. A momentary slip, a fraction of a touch, and suddenly the track erupted—carbon fiber scattered across the tarmac, the crowd's roar swallowed by the sickening crunch of metal and the screech of tires fighting for survival.

Reader's Guide

Verstappen and Hamilton entered the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with 369.5 points each in the World Drivers' Championship, the first time since 1974 that the top-two drivers were level on points with one race remaining in an F1 season. Because of Sergio Pérez's involvement in an accident and subsequent retirement, Mercedes widened their gap over Red Bull Racing–Honda in the World Constructors' Championship.

Did You Know?

• The race was the 21st and penultimate round of the 2021 season.
• Hamilton won the race from pole position; Verstappen finished second.
• Verstappen received a five-second penalty for cutting turn two and a ten-second penalty for erratic braking, but neither affected his position.
• The top two drivers entered the final round tied on points for the first time since 1974.