Although Hamilton fell in the back of Verstappen once – in one of several clashes between the two – Hamilton managed to win a chaotic and controversial first race in Jeddah to organize a winner-takes-all title showdown in Abu Dhabi that weekend .
But the remaining respect between the two championship contenders seems to have been wiped out after one of the craziest and most dramatic Grand Prix ever seen in Formula 1.
After crashes at Silverstone and Monza and further controversy in Brazil, Sunday’s race was the most recent collision between the championship contenders.
The most controversial hotspot came on lap 37, when Hamilton hit the back of Verstappen’s car in apparent miscommunication after the Red Bull driver was ordered to relinquish his position after driving far over Hamilton twice at Turn 1 to move forward stay.
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Verstappen was given a five-second time penalty for gaining an unfair permanent advantage by forcing Hamilton off the track, before scooping up the brakes after the race with another 10-second time penalty for “irregular” braking led, contact was imposed.
The penalties ultimately had no bearing on the bottom line as Verstappen retained his second place.
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During the race, Hamilton Verstappen was heard calling the team radio a “crazy guy” and later he hit the Dutchman for being “over the limit” with some of his movements.
Hamilton also aimed at enforcing F1 racing rules, suggesting that there is a driver who doesn’t seem to understand that overtaking is not allowed off-track, in a thinly veiled ditch in Verstappen.
“I don’t think I’ve changed the way I drive,” said Hamilton.
“I think we’re seeing several incidents this year where we’re even supposed to be driving between the white lines with Brazil and the rules were not clear from the commissioners that these things were allowed, so” it goes on.
“From what I understand, I know that I can’t overtake anyone and go off the track and then hold my position, but I think all of us drivers know that, but it probably doesn’t apply to any of us.”
Hamilton, who has resigned many times in wheel-to-wheel battles with Verstappen this year, insisted he do his best to avoid accidents.
“It was clear that others around us were ready to take it to all possible levels to overtake,” he added. “So I just tried to hold the line and avoid trouble, which meant avoiding incidents when I could.”
Verstappen denied Hamilton’s allegations and felt that he was being treated unfairly by the Formula 1 stewards.
“I think it’s interesting that I’m the one who gets a penalty if we both run outside the white lines,” he said.
“It was okay in Brazil and now I suddenly get a penalty for it. Well, you could clearly see that neither of them came into the corner. “
Verstappen had already expressed his frustration with the imposition of penalties immediately after the race and was visibly upset about the situation at the press conference.
“I think we’ve been talking more about white lines and penalties lately than the actual Formula 1 races, and I think that’s a bit of a shame,” he added.
How will this ultimate showdown end?
The result is that for the first time since 1974, F1 finds itself with the delightful prospect of a title final, with both drivers going into the race on points.
With all that is at stake, the fight that had already expanded to off-track antics and ranks between the Mercedes and Red Bull camps has apparently turned into total war. But how will it end?
Verstappen goes into the final as world championship leader with nine wins over Hamilton. In order for Hamilton to seal a record-breaking eighth world title, he has to beat Verstappen on the track.
The permutations mean that Verstappen can afford a racing collision with Hamilton, knowing that in such a scenario he would win his first world title.
F1 are no stranger to controversial crashes when deciding on the title; think of Senna and Prost 1989 and 1990 or Schumacher and Hill 1994 and Schumacher and Villeneuve 1997.
The ever-increasing tensions between Verstappen and Hamilton have given rise to the prospect of a title decision under contentious circumstances.
And that’s what Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is afraid of.
“I would hope that [this] Racing has enough impact that everyone will learn from it and prepare for the final race in Abu Dhabi, ”he said.
“I think that driving like this, if judged by the commissioners to be over the finish line, is likely to be penalized in Abu Dhabi as well and could end up in a chaotic situation for everyone.
“And I don’t think the championship deserved a result that was affected by a collision. So I trust the self-regulating system very much. “
When asked whether Red Bull is interested in how Verstappen wins, team boss Christian Horner replied: “Yes, of course. We want to win on the track, not in the commissioner’s room, not in the gravel trap. It was an uphill battle all year round.
“There have been some fantastic races between these two drivers and I hope it will be a fair and clean race in Abu Dhabi.”
Regardless of who is crowned world champion, the 2021 season will go down in folklore as one of the greatest of all time, while the rivalry between Verstappen and Hamilton will be talked about for decades.
This time next week we will know how an extraordinary and vibrant final chapter of this fascinating story ends.
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