From the very beginning of the race, Max had an uphill gradient. Dutch fans may have had the impression that the heavens and the judges were in favor of Lewis Hamilton. Especially after the events of the first lap. There he delayed the start, but a moment later he started a fight with Hamilton in the first corner. He slightly pushed the Englishman off the track, and the latter … avoided the chicanery and was the first to leave. Red Bull did not believe that the judges did not intend to deal with the situation.
This moment decided about the world championship. “It’s unbelievable”
It got even hotter on lap 53, and the next five laps will go down in Formula 1 history. Already, many fans are writing about the greatest thriller in the history of the sport, and they are probably not exaggerating. First Williams Latifi was thrown off the track and the judges had to release a safety car onto the track. A moment earlier, Mercedes had hit the wall, as Verstappen had the advantage of strategy, he could have risked what Hamilton would do. When Giovinazzi withdrew his car, the virtual safety car appeared and Verstappem changed tires. He had such an advantage over the third driver that he did not have to be afraid of losing the position. On Lap 54, Verstappen was back in the pit lane and it was clear that if there was a restart they would be in a much better position. The whole sequence of events with Giovinazzi and Latifi was therefore crucial to the title of the championship.
The British decided not to change the tires to new ones and had to use his old ones. Why? Because if he had pulled down, Verstappen would not have come to the pit stop and he would have taken the lead. – It’s a bit of a risk you left me on the track. Do you know that I won’t be able to keep this pace for long? Hamilton was irritated. “If we dragged you to the pit stop, we’d lose track of the track,” the engineer explained to Hamilton.
Great controversy involving judges
In the background, however, there was a clash between the team leaders and the race director. The following laps were passing, and Latifi’s car was still being picked up from the track. Suddenly there was also information that there will be no duplication of drivers who were between Verstappen and Hamilton. Red Bull did not believe the judges’ decision again, but they came to their senses at the last moment and made the only right decision. This meant that there was no one between Hamilton and Verstappen. And the Dutch had a giant tire advantage. And when the race started, both drivers fought an exciting fight for the world championship. It wasn’t like overtime, it was like a series of penalties for the world championship.
Mercedes was absolutely shocked, although Lewis Hamilton felt the championship slipping from his hands as soon as he entered the safety car. After the race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was pleading to Michel Masi, the director of the race, that they must restore the results from the last lap. Masi answered him shortly: Toto, this is racing.
“Sport.pl Live” – The new Sport.pl program starts on Monday!
On Monday, December 13 at At 20:00 a new premium video program will debut – “Sport.pl Live”. It will be available for viewing every week on the main pages of Gazeta.pl and Sport.pl, as well as on YouTube and Twitch Sport.pl. In the first episode, the main theme will be the form of Polish ski jumpers and a revolutionary change in equipment that our rivals are already using. Our guest will be, among others, Apoloniusz Tajner (president of PZN).
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
