We have conveyed to you all the developments during the week in Formula 1 in the news of the qualifying rounds. The Saudi Arabian Jeddah Street Track race, in which the red flag was waved twice, the start was made three times, and virtual safety and real safety car decisions were made many times, ended with Lewis Hamilton’s victory.
The champion of the season in Formula 1 will be determined with the race to be held on Sunday, December 12 at 16:00 CEST. Finishing the race ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, he will be the champion of the season.
Grid order of the race and tire preferences of the drivers
Lewis Hamilton, the British driver of Mercedes, started the race in the first place; He was followed by teammate Valtteri Bottas and champion Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc is in fourth place and Sergio Perez from Red Bull is in fifth place in this race where every point he gets in the constructors’ championship is worth gold.
Except for McLaren driver Lando Norris, none of the drivers chose soft-dough tires at the start of the race. While Ricciardo, Sainz and Vettel prefer hard rubber rubber; all other pilots preferred medium dough.
Start moment: Everything continues from where it left off as if it were yesterday
The expected picture at takeoff was that Verstappen took advantage of Hamilton by taking the air lane, but this expectation did not materialize due to the very short first straight.
While there was no change in the first five rows at the time of departure; Perez suffered a minor blockage and lost his chance to pass Leclerc. Again at takeoff, there was contact between Stroll and Russell and between Ocon and Tsunoda. The reviewers explained that these events were noted.
Round 4 -9: The referees explained that the events between Stroll and Russell and between Ocon and Tsunoda need not be looked into.
Lap 10: Mick Schumacher crashed, safety car decision made
On this lap, Haas driver Mick Schumacher crashed into the barriers and was out of the race. It was noteworthy that Schumacher had an accident at the same place as Leclerc during the week. As the safety vehicle enters the runway; Hamilton, Bottas and Perez pit; Verstappen continued the race without pitting.
Lap 11: As a result of the pits of the pilots who used the safety car as an opportunity and wanted to use this opportunity, the ranking was formed as Verstappen, Hamilton and Bottas; Perez is in 8th place. Red Bull pitted Perez and did not pit Verstappen; Mercedes pitted both drivers and rolled the dice.
Verstappen told the team radio that the safety car should go faster this lap.
Round 14: The jackpot hits Red Bull before the new year
A red flag decision was taken in order to complete the cleaning procedures of the runway. According to this decision, the vehicles will be waiting in the pit lane and the pilots will be able to change tires without losing a turn until the red flag decision is finalized. Max Verstappen and Red Bull were the most profitable names from this situation.
Especially Hamilton and Mercedes criticized this decision of the referees for a long time over the team radio.
Lap 15: The race was started for the second time and red flagged again
After a break of about 20 minutes, the race stopped again and continued as a start.
At the start, things got mixed up once again. On the first straight, Hamilton passed Verstappen; Verstappen came from outside and responded to Hamilton. Ocon passed Hamilton as Hamilton lost momentum. However, due to the events in the middle ranks, the red flag decision came again.
Events leading to the red flag decision; Mazepin crashed into Russell from behind at high speed and Leclerc made contact with Perez.
After the red flag decision, championship director Masi told Red Bull management; “Verstappen should move to third place, we think he has an advantage over Hamilton, if you don’t agree I can forward it to the commission,” he offered. Red Bull accepted this offer. When the race starts again, the order is Ocon, Hamilton, Verstappen, Ricciardo and Bottas; Red Bull’s other driver, Perez, was out of the race.
Lap 17: Third time started in Arabia
At the third start, there was a small contact between Ocon and Hamilton; Verstappen passed both Hamilton and Ocon to the lead. Later, Ocon also lost his place to Hamilton and relegated to third place. At the end of this lap, the ranking was formed as Verstappen, Hamilton, Ocon, Ricciardo and Bottas; Perez, Russell, Mazepin and Schumacher were the names that were out of the race and could not participate in the start.
Lap 20: The difference between Verstappen and Hamilton is 1.2 seconds. The top five continue as Verstappen, Hamilton, Ocon, Ricciardo and Bottas.
Lap 23: AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda had contact after a duel with Sebastian Vettel and had to crash into the barriers. After the collision, the decision for a virtual safety vehicle (VSC) came to collect the pieces on the track. VSC ends round 26; Tsunoda continued the race with a front wing change.
Lap 30: We saw the safety cars rather than the race
While the ranking in the top five continues as Verstappen, Hamilton, Ocon, Ricciardo and Bottas; Due to the contact between Räikkönen and Vettel 3 laps before this lap, VSC decision was made at intervals of 2 times. Also, Tsunoda was given a 5 second time penalty.
Lap 37: Hamilton hits Verstappen from behind
The VSC decision was once again made in the 36th round. On lap 37, Hamilton attacked Verstappen on the straight, but on the next corner Verstappen came from the outside and passed Hamilton. There was little contact during the attack. After this attack from the outside, Red Bull ordered Verstappen to “return his seat to Hamilton”. When Verstappen was about to give his place to Hamilton, Hamilton from behind slammed into Verstappen, causing minor damage to Hamilton’s front wing. Both cases are under investigation.
Round 40: The result of the review has not yet been announced. Verstappen continues the race in first place. There is heavy radio traffic between the FIA, Masi, Red Bull and Mercedes.
Lap 42: Hamilton passed Verstappen on the straight, but Verstappen countered once again. After this attack, the review ended and Verstappen was given a 5 second time penalty.
Lap 44: Hamilton moves ahead of Verstappen. Now the leader is Lewis Hamilton. The new standings were Hamilton, Verstappen, Ocon, Bottas and Ricciardo.
Final lap: Victory Lewis Hamilton’s
Lewis Hamilton won the first race at the Saudi Arabian Jeddah Street Circuit; Max Verstappen finished the race in second place. Valtteri Bottas, the other driver of Mercedes, passed Esteban Ocon at the finish line and moved to third place.
After the Saudi Arabian race, the points of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were equalized. The champion of the season in Formula 1 will be determined in the final race to be held in Abu Dhabi next week. In the race to be held in Abu Dhabi, Verstapppen and Hamilton, who finishes ahead of the race, will have declared the title championship.
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