Most of us are just recovering from a wild Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton tussled at the top of the grid.
It'll probably go down as one of the greatest races of all time and undoubtedly one of the most chaotic. From start to finish.
There were crashes, safety cars, red flags, wild overtakes, arguments and drama aplenty. It's hard to know where to begin.
During the race - Verstappen accumulated two time penalties - one for going off the track in overtaking Hamilton and another for the collision where the Mercedes driver ran into the back of him.
😱 Oh. My. Word. 😱
Max Verstappen was told to let Lewis Hamilton past and he slowed but then Hamilton ran into the back of him!! His front wing is damaged!
🗣 "He just brake tested me!" says Hamilton
📺 #SaudiArabianGP live on Sky Sports F1#SkyF1 | #F1 pic.twitter.com/mBY6G6hd0P— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 5, 2021
That particular incident involved a miscommunication of sorts - as Hamilton didn't seem sure that his rival was letting him by. Nonetheless, F1 stewards found the Red Bull driver culpable.
It resulted in an overall ten-second penalty for the Dutchman but it wasn't enough to affect his P2 finishing time and the overall Driver Standings.
Verstappen's Peeved Reaction
Verstappen was undergoing his in-lap after the race when he was named 'Driver of the Day'. He was interviewed over the radio.
He was clearly upset at what occurred during the Grand Prix through his choice of words:
Yeah, luckily the fans have a clear mind about racing. Because what happened today is unbelievable. I am just trying to race and this sport is more about penalties than racing. So for me, this is not Formula 1 but at least the fans enjoyed it and I gave it all today. Clearly not quick enough but still happy with second.
Lewis Hamilton didn't hold back in his initial reaction to rear-ending Verstappen. "This guy is crazy man," he said over to his team after the incident.
But in the aftermath of the race - the two drivers spoke very differently. Hamilton chose to take the technical approach and explain his thought process:
It really wasn't clear. There's two scenarios. One - that it wasn't clear. Two - I didn't get the information. Then it become apparent that he was trying to let me past which was what I guess he'd been asked to do but before the DRS zone. So that would have meant he would just DRS back pass me coming through the last corner, followed me and then DRS'd me into turn 1. That was the tactics. I think really the worst part was just the steep heavy breaking that then happened at one point. That's when we collided. That was the dangerous part.
Verstappen on the other hand was much more vague - and spent most of the time airing his displeasure at the inconsistency of the penalties:
I find it interesting that I'm the one that gets the penalty when both of us went outside the white lines. In Brazil it was fine - now suddenly I get a penalty for it. Well, you could cleary see both didn't make the corner. But, it's fine. I also don't really spend too much time on it. We have to move forward. We are equal on points now and I think that's really exciting of course for the whole championship and Formula 1 in general. I said it already on the in-lap - I think lately we're talking more about white lines and penalties than actually proper Formula 1 racing and I think that's a little bit of a shame.
Whatever side of the coin you fall on - nothing else matters now heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend.
Both drivers are at a dead tie on top of the Driver Standings and only one can win it. It's going to be a fascinating watch.
See Also: Watch: Every Hamilton And Verstappen Incident At Crazy Saudi Grand Prix
