Chaotic Saudi Arabian GP suspended a second time
Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was suspended for a second time on Sunday following a chaotic restart which saw Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton tangling on the first corner and several cars crashing out of the race.
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The race was initially stopped after 12 laps after Mick Schumacher slammed his Haas into a crash barrier and inadvertently handed the world title advantage to Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton, who was leading at the time of the crash, pitted while the safety car was out.
That allowed championship leader Verstappen, who had started from third on the grid, to stay out and inherit the lead.
The yellow flags, however, turned red two laps later, meaning the cars returned to the pit lane, allowing Verstappen to change his tyres without losing any time.
When the race resumed, Hamilton slipped past Verstappen who then barged his way around the outside, going off the track, to regain the advantage.
Behind them Sergio Perez was clipped by Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, causing the Red Bull to spin off.
That in turn triggered a domino effect with George Russell (Williams) and Nikita Mazepin (Haas) also going off.
The stewards decided that Verstappen's manoeuvre was illegal and promoted Alpine's Esteban Ocon to pole for the third start of the race, with Hamilton in second and Verstappen in third.
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