| Formula 1 has featured many last-race title deciders – some fair, some foul – but the anticipation for this weekend’s Abu Dhabi GP is off the scale after what happened in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton has been involved in a couple of last-gasp deciders already, most notably in Brazil in 2008 when he won his first title effectively at the final corner. But even Lewis, who prides himself on winning ‘the right way’, can be crafty – recall the way he attempted to back-up Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg towards the chasing pack at Abu Dhabi in 2016… It was a different kind of going slowly that was the true flashpoint of the Saudi GP, as Max Verstappen slowed on a straight having been instructed to let Hamilton past. After the race, stewards decreed that his “erratic” braking that caused their collision should be penalized, adding to what looks to be an ever-growing chip on Red Bull’s shoulder over decisions from race control. They go into the decider tied on points, almost as if nothing that’s gone before has mattered until now. Imagine the pressure, the expectation, the fear of failure at the final hurdle... Something Rosberg said after Abu Dhabi ’16 sticks in my mind. He could have afforded to lose a place to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel that day, but not to the car that followed Seb…
“I didn’t want to have Verstappen right behind me at the end.” By: Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief
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