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Formula 1
Saudi Arabia GP
F1 Saudi Arabia GP Live Commentary and Updates - race day
Minute-by-minute updates from Saudi Arabia's first ever F1 race
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It was bound to happen eventually - the Raikkonen/Vettel clash that forced the 2007 champion to the pits for a new nose has been noted by the stewards.
Off we go again and Verstappen leads by 1.2s from Hamilton at the end of lap 33.
The ebb and flow of the VSC can help some drivers and hinder others depending on where they are on the track when they get the green. Sainz has now closed in on Giovinazzi - he's just 2.8 seconds adrift, compared to roughly around 10 seconds before the latest interruption.
After his spin, Alonso's comeback mission begins with depriving Vettel's wounded Aston of 13th.
Stopwatch
Next time around Verstappen and Hamilton effectively match lap times, the Mercedes driver edges it by 0.08s to take the fastest lap time of 1m31.411s.
Norris is within DRS range of Stroll's 10th place. Can the McLaren man get back into the points?
Safety car
Virtual Safety Car! For yet more debris.
Green flag
Aaaaaand it's gone. VSC over and back to green racing.
Once again, it looks like Vettel's car that was the culprit of that most recent pause. Perhaps not surprising though, given the number of hits its taken from Tsunoda and then Raikkonen.
Hamilton catches Verstappen napping on that restart and gets the DRS down the start/finish straight. Hamilton goes around the outside but Verstappen gives him no room and forces them both wide.
Crash
Verstappen is told to give the place to Hamilton but as he slows Hamilton runs into the back of him! What is happening!
Verstappen slowed in the middle of the track, likely to let Hamilton by, and that incident has been put under investigation. Hamilton has front wing damage but is still going. Not sure on damage to Verstappen's car yet.
Amid all of that, Norris has passed Stroll for tenth.
This race and this title fight literally has had it all and is boiling over. Toto Wolff is furious in the Mercedes garage.
Verstappen currently leads by 2.0s from Hamilton, while further back Bottas gets by Ricciardo for fourth place.
We've not seen it, but Giovinazzi has lost two places and is now behind both Ferraris, dropping back to ninth.
"Race control has instructed him to give the place back," Pete Bonnington tells Hamilton over team radio. But so far the gap remains stable.
The FIA to team radio has shed some light on the chaos. It sounds like Verstappen was instructed to give the place to Hamilton but the Mercedes team, and therefore Hamilton, wasn't aware, so came up to the back of Verstappen and that triggered the contact.
Penalty
Verstappen has a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. So nothing to do with the clash? Who knows at this stage.
Hard to keep up with all this, honest. At Turn 27 Verstappen lets by Hamilton but bolts back ahead with the aid of DRS to keep the lead.
A spot of housekeeping, no investigation necessary for the clash between Raikkonen and Vettel earlier on.
On lap 43 Verstappen appears to let Hamilton through again at the final corner and now Hamilton leads.
If this live text commentary is reading like we don't know what is going on, that's because we don't know what's going on. But we can say Hamilton leads by 3.9s from Verstappen with 5 laps to go.
Leclerc is now just within a second of Sainz as the Ferraris continue to run in Noah's Ark formation. Could we see them swap places again as Sainz's tyres wear?
Verstappen has reported his rear tyres are dropping - he's on the mediums remember - and his pace is dropping. The gap is 4.6s.
Vettel has called it a day and retired. A day that started so promisingly all went awry with that lunge from Tsunoda.
Bottas is hunting down Ocon for third place, closing within a second of the Alpine, so it could be a double Mercedes podium in all this carnage.
Quote
"Is he backing off to go for fastest lap?" Hamilton asks his Mercedes team. The response is he, Verstappen, is nursing the tyres to the finish with two laps to go.
Bottas is struggling to find enough to close the gap on Ocon for an overtaking opportunity. Hamilton is starting the final lap of this wild race.
On the last lap, Leclerc has taken Sainz for seventh.
Checkered flag
Lewis Hamilton wins the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix! He also takes the point for fastest lap!
Verstappen finishes second and Bottas gets Ocon at the finish line to steal third place! Wow, action all the way through!
A mighty effort from Ocon but it isn't enough for a podium and he has to settle for fourth ahead of Ricciardo, Gasly, Leclerc, Sainz, Giovinazzi with Norris completing the points places.
How about that then, Verstappen and Hamilton are level on points going into the final race of the season. Verstappen has the net lead by winning most races so far this season.
Hamilton punches the air as he gets out of his car. Both he and Verstappen are keeping their distance in parc ferme but in truth they look absolutely shattered.
Verstappen, to a few boos from the crowd, on his P2: "Yes it was quite eventful. A lot of things happened which I don't fully agree with but it is what it is, I tried to give it my all on track."
Bottas on P3: "It was not easy today with a few red flags. Being on the hard tyres for the restart wasn't the right decision. It wasn't easy to overtake today but we got there in the end."
Hamilton, to cheers and boos, on his win: "That was incredibly tough and I tried to be as sensible and as tough as I could. With all my experience and I was trying to keep it on track."
Hamilton on his collision with Verstappen: "I don't quite understand why he suddenly hit the brakes quite heavily, then I hit the back of him and he went off again. Then I got the message he was going to let me past, so it was quite confusing."
Verstappen, on being told he was voted driver of the day, had some interesting comments on team radio: "Luckily the fans have a clear mind about racing because what happened today was unbelievable... this sport is more about penalties than racing and for me this is not Formula 1."
By: Autosport Staff
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