The title fight in Formula 1 will absolutely not disappoint in 2021 and enough happened again in the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia that provided food for discussion. Not for the first time this season Max Verstappen on Lewis Hamilton against each other in a direct duel and it was not the first time that the limit was sought. Verstappen was given a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in a duel with Hamilton, after having already lost two places in the second restart for the same offence. Later, the Red Bull driver wanted to give his competitor back the position, but due to a miscommunication they hit each other. After the race they had to answer to the stewards and Verstappen received a time penalty of ten seconds for that.
Bee Red Bull Racing they are in any case not satisfied with some of the decisions taken by the race management. “Almost every decision was against us, just like in Doha a few weeks ago. On Saturday we also saw two incidents that… let’s say it was at least variable,” said team boss Christian Horner after the race in Jeddah, which was eventually won by Hamilton. Horner’s surprise already arose at the second code red. Red Bull was allowed to choose from race director Michael Masi: either Verstappen should sit behind Hamilton on the grid at the restart, or the incident at the first restart would be referred to the stewards.
“It looked a bit like we were on the market [te onderhandelen], that was unusual. And yes, I’ve never seen this before. We’ve made our own arguments, of course, and I’m sure Mercedes did the same thing. It was just very frustrating,” Horner reflected on the incident. He also questioned the other decisions of the stewards. “We didn’t feel that the five-second penalty was really justified. And we certainly felt that Lewis just drove into the back of Max’s car. So there’s going to be a hearing, but it seemed like he was just trying to avoid hitting him.” would catch up, because he didn’t want to miss out on the DRS.”
‘Formula 1 is overregulated’
According to Horner, the Saudi Arabia GP also proved that the leadership of former race director Charlie Whiting is missing. “I think we are overregulated. And then the referee. There are rules about ten car lengths as maximum distance, but you know, the formation lap isn’t a formation lap if it’s a restart… It feels like there are too many rules. It felt like the sport was missing Charlie Whiting. I’m sorry to say it, but the experience he had… It’s frustrating, of course, but it’s also hard for Michael [Masi] and the stewards, especially in a location like that, these kinds of tracks, the amount of debris and the types of corners there are. But yes, it is the same for everyone.”
F1 update: Saudi Arabia’s Grand Prix discussed extensively
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