Huge drama at Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as race is suspended TWICE with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen raging over incidents

The first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was far from dramatic with the race suspended twice in the first 16 laps.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have had a series of incidents with the Drivers’ Championship at stake.

Hamilton’s quest to lead the championship started well as he led the line.

The seven-time world champion started the race on pole, eight points behind Verstappen in the standings, but with the Red Bull man third on the grid.

After a serious crash in the previous Formula 2 race, there was no rehearsal in the main event as Hamilton fled and teammate Valtteri Bottas quickly took on the role of rear gunner with Verstappen, seeking to clinch the title if he could beat Hamilton. 18 points, in third.

The field was regrouped by a safety car on lap 10 after Mick Schumacher entered the barriers, triggering a frantic pit stop action.

Mercedes stacked their drivers, pitting Hamilton against Bottas to change tires earlier – but Red Bull played and left Verstappen out, with the Dutchman taking the lead in the process.

Then fortune shifted in the direction of Verstappen as the race was marked with a red flag and the cars were ordered to return to the pit lane as the damage to the barrier from the Schumacher accident required special attention.

This allowed Verstappen to change tires without stinging and relinquishing their newly acquired first position.

Hamilton was far from happy with the situation and complained to his team over the radio.

When they finally rebooted, the standing start had more drama than the original.

Verstappen complained in the pre-restart lap as Hamilton kept a great distance between them, allowing him to build up more tire temperatures.

As the lights went out again, Hamilton passed Verstappen who cut the first corner to keep the lead. Esteban Ocon also flew over Hamilton, which fell to third place.

Moments later the red flag fell again, this time with Nikita Mazepin’s second Haas entering the wall after overtaking Sergio Perez’s Red Bull.

Hamilton and Mercedes complained about the way Verstappen regained the lead so the stewards decided the second restart would see Ocon first, Hamilton second and Verstappen third.

However, Verstappen didn’t make the same mistakes again and had a nice second raise.

The Dutchman made a good move to fly over Hamilton then Ocon in quick succession.

Hamilton has now passed Ocon and recovered in second place, but is again in pursuit of Verstappen.

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