With red flags, yellow flags, crashes, penalties and political games, it was an overdose of events on the Jeddah street circuit for many Formula 1 followers. What exactly happened and what did we experience in the first ever GP of Saudi Arabia?
“A race where the championship was fought hard and all limits, both on and off the track, were explored”, Jan Lammers analyzes in conversation with RacingNews365. “We saw pieces of politics and propaganda, in which they (Mercedes and Red Bull, ed.) try to focus on the other. We also know that from tennis, for example. discussed very hard. Then the only aim was to give you the advantage in the next doubtful case.”
The former driver understands very well that the two rival teams are going to extremes to win the 2021 world titles. “Reasonable or unreasonable action, that is no longer relevant. It is now purely about scoring points and it makes sense that they fight hard for that. Look at Mercedes, they can set a record on the eve of completely new regulations. I can I can imagine that they now want to take advantage of their advantage. And what is at stake for Max, that speaks for itself.”
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“Hamilton was really not allowed to make mistakes”
According to many, the most talked-about moment of the race in Jeddah was the crash between Verstappen and Hamilton. The Dutchman was ordered to give way to his title rival, but probably because of the confusion there was a hard blow. “It was a confluence of circumstances,” says Lammers, who does not assume that a guilty party can be identified.
“Hamilton who hits the back, he doesn’t do that for fun, of course. In principle, he was the one who had to be so careful that he didn’t get too much damage, because then his championship would have been ready immediately. Max could take on every confrontation very aggressively , because if something went wrong, then it was in his favor. If you look through Hamilton’s visor: he had to tackle everything with silk gloves. No penalty, no damage. He was really not allowed to make mistakes. “
In the meantime, according to Lammers, Verstappen was able to confront and take many more risks. The pressure was on with both drivers, but with Hamilton it was even more sweating. “And that also made the race so interesting. As a neutral viewer you have to give Hamilton a bit of credit, because he drove a really good race.”
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FIA certainly not biased according to Lammers
With all the chaos on the track it was a busy race for the FIA. For example, a penalty was handed out to Verstappen, after which the discussion flared up again whether the race management is acting in favor of Mercedes. Lammers is sure that the FIA tries to act correctly and impartially in all cases. “The discussions about Max’s starting position with Hamilton and Esteban Ocon were of course a bit unusual. On the other hand, without a red flag, Verstappen should have returned that position.”
“The fact that Ocon is suddenly in between made it a bit more unusual and a bit more difficult to follow.” After the race, Verstappen was given a further ten-second time penalty, causing social media to explode with differing opinions about the incident. The sports director of Circuit Zandvoort clearly sees two camps
“One sees an advantage for Max, the other for Hamilton. Anyway, I do believe that the FIA, Michael Masi and the rest of the race management always try to do the right thing.” There is therefore certainly no question of partiality, Lammers emphasizes. “I certainly don’t see a witch hunt for Verstappen,” he concludes.
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Coronel: “Verstappen deserved the victory through fighting spirit and struggle”
Tom Coronel looks back on the very first Saudi Grand Prix for RacingNews365. The WTCR driver believes that not Lewis Hamilton, but Max Verstappen should have won the Grand Prix in Jeddah because of his ‘fighting spirit and struggle’. Coronel also believes that the FIA made mistakes in Saudi Arabia.
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