Lewis Hamilton won a stunning race at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to match Verstappen on points. Mercedes pulled away from Red Bull in the table and practically secured the constructors’ cup for itself. And the invisible hero was Okon from “Alpine”. MK-sport sums up the results of the race.
The first Saudi Arabia Grand Prix will be remembered for a long time: in this race, there was, perhaps, everything that is needed for a cool show: numerous accidents, a struggle for leadership with a lot of contacts and collisions, controversial decisions of the judges. Almost until the end of the race, it was not at all clear who would win. In many ways, the intrigue was kept up by Max Verstappen , who, having gained the lead in the race, repeatedly fought off the attacks of Lewis Hamilton . Sometimes the battles were fair, sometimes the Dutchman outright violated the rules, cutting off the turns.
After one of these defenses over the edge of a foul, Max was ordered to give the first position to Hamilton. Verstappen slowed down, letting Lewis pass, but he was not warned on the radio about his opponent’s intentions. The Briton drove up to a competitor, not understanding what was happening, slowed down, and then steered sharply and broke his wing on the Dutchman’s car.
But in the end, Hamilton turned out to be a little faster, found the moment for a successful overtaking, broke into first place and deservedly won. And he also scored a bonus point for the best lap. Now there is complete equality between the two contenders for the title – 369.5 points each. Verstappen remained the leader due to more victories – 9 versus 8. Now the fate of the title will be decided at the final grand prix of Abu Dhabi in a week.
In the team competition, thanks to the victory of Hamilton and the podium of Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes got 28 points ahead of Red Bull and practically guaranteed itself the Constructors’ Cup.
Esteban Okon from Alpin can be considered an inconspicuous hero of the Grand Prix . The rider, who started from the ninth position, at some point, thanks to the red flags and the controversial decision of the judges regarding Verstappen, ended up in the first position. Of course, Esteban could not hold back the Dutchman and the British for a long time, but the pilot successfully defended the third position from the attacks of competitors for almost half of the race. Only on the last straight before the finish, Valtteri Bottas finally carried out a smashing attack and was ahead of Esteban by only one tenth of a second, taking the podium away from him. It’s a shame for the young Frenchman. But this could be the second consecutive podium for Alpin.
Notable events include the accident and retirement of Sergio Perez , who could not help Red Bull catch up with Mercedes in the team competition.
Also both Haas got off in the race. Mick Schumacher lost his car in one of the corners and flew into the bump stop, thereby triggering a series of events that led to further leapfrog in the placement.
And Nikita Mazepin became a hostage of circumstances. After Perez had an accident, and his car got across the track, several pilots behind were forced to brake abruptly. One of these riders was George Russell . But he did it so abruptly and unexpectedly that Nikita, who was following, simply did not have time to react and drove in full swing into the rear of the Williams. The Russian was not injured, but Mazepin’s race ended there.
Another Russian this weekend also went wrong. Robert Schwartzman made his third big bet in Formula 2 this weekend. Starting from the second position right behind the main rival Oscar Piastri , the Russian hoped to win.
But all at once did not go according to plan. First, there was a blockage at the start, because of which it was necessary to stop the race and remove the debris. Then the race was restarted, but soon there was another accident, due to which the race was stopped and later did not resume, since the time allotted for the race had run out.
At the end of the race, the racers were given points cut in half, and Robert never had a chance to compete for victory. The Russian qualified second in the race.
At the end of the weekend, Robert settled on the second line of the overall standings, but it is unlikely that he will be able to compete for the title. Mathematical chances still remain, but for this it is necessary to collect almost all credits in Abu Dhabi for qualifications, best laps and races with Piastri’s failure in all sessions. Unlikely outcome. Most likely, Robert will finish the season on the second line in the championship, which can also be considered a good result.
