The first F1 visit to Saudi Arabia was a comedy of errors and indecision. Then Hamilton, winner of the last four championships, reeled off three consecutive wins to pull even with Verstappen in the standings following Sunday’s inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Verstappen’s ninth win of the season a month ago in Mexico City gave him a 19-point lead in the standings and apparent control of the title race. The drivers have wrecked each other twice this season - Red Bull accused Hamilton of making a “desperate move” and “dangerous driving” when contact at Silverstone sent Verstappen to the hospital for evaluation - and neither was injured four races later when they crashed at Monza and Verstappen’s car landed atop Hamilton’s Mercedes. Hamilton and Verstappen have gone punch-for-punch all year, racing one another past the limits of sanity on the track while stepping aside off the track to allow their respective teams to partake in the bitter public feuding over just about anything. Few would have predicted such a salacious final act to this sensational season. The producers of “Drive to Survive,” the Netflix docuseries that has helped F1 explode in popularity the last few years, must be salivating over the final script. A win for Verstappen would be his first title, a crowning achievement his taskmaster father, Jos, never achieved in his own F1 career, which included a stint as Schumacher’s teammate. A Hamilton title would be his record eighth championship, breaking a tie with F1 legend Michael Schumacher.
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