Formula 1 was once again the scene of incredible twists and turns on Sunday, December 5, on the occasion of the victory of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). Thanks to his success, the Briton is perfectly tied (369.5 points) with his rival Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in the fight for the title. The duel was epic on the Jeddah circuit. Cyril Abiteboul, former boss of the Renault team (now Alpine), analyzes this crazy race for franceinfo: sport.
Franceinfo: sport: What is your analysis of Sunday’s race?
Cyril Abiteboul: If a Hollywood screenwriter wrote a script like this, he would be retaliated by saying that it is unrealistic. F1 always manages to surprise us. By going on this circuit, with this very tight track, these blind turns, any incident comes at a high price. So everyone expected red flags, and there was no shortage of it. Until now we had two teams outside the peloton, now we have two men. It’s a sport within sport, a league within a league, a world apart in Formula 1. These two men are on another planet.
Have we witnessed the craziest race in recent years?
As soon as there are red flags and restarts, it always gives you crazy races. At each restart, the adrenaline goes up a notch, the tires are in worse condition, so the first braking is always full of surprises. This year, we still had the spectacular race in Hungary with the victory of Alpine and Esteban (Ocon). The moment of grace, like Sunday, is when the visual spectacle, generator of emotions, aligns with the sporting stake of the championship. I find that quite extraordinary.
Do you think the rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen has crossed the line?
I am not shocked. It’s pretty good for the sport to have extreme rivalries. We can discuss the sporting side, the anti-sporting side, is Verstappen mounted on the brake or was it the engine brake? But I think it’s all the dramaturgy, the intensity of this sport that is brought to light. We have two people with different athletic profiles, psychologies and moments in their lives. Both have the same thirst to win, to triumph over the other and to have this championship which is within their reach. We vibrate with them.
How do you analyze the clash between the two men on the 38th lap?
To have been on a pitwall, there is a lot of information to manage in real time, there is a lot of discussion with the FIA. This can generate a lot of confusion. It’s not clear why Lewis (Hamilton) stays behind. Indeed, if he did not have the information, it is not completely obvious because it is not in the nature of Max (Verstappen) to let pass or to slow down. Things are decided in a fraction of a second. There was even some confusion between them when Max (Verstappen) let Lewis (Hamilton) pass a second time to avoid a penalty he would not escape. There is a limit to the amount of information pilots can handle in these kinds of situations.
What did you think of the role of the FIA and its proposal to Red Bull that Verstappen start behind Hamilton at the second restart?
It’s fairly new, maybe it’s a bit risky to start giving options.
We saw the anger of the manager of the Mercedes team Toto Wolff after the collision. How do you analyze the nervousness of Toto Wolff and Christian Horner?
I know them well, I have a lot of sympathy and respect for them both. They are two great team bosses. They are different profiles. Toto (Wolff) is much more Latin, Christian (Horner) is much more scathing with very, very cold, brutal anger. It’s beautiful to see these moments. It’s a psychological battle over a whole year, with the FIA or the media. I like to see Toto (Wolff) let go like that, it’s a very beautiful image.
Has Lewis Hamilton gained the upper hand this weekend?
Yes, because there is still this law of the series with three consecutive victories. At the Mexico City Grand Prix, we gave Lewis (Hamilton) almost the loser. It was a crucial Grand Prix for him this weekend, more than the next potentially. He puts himself back in a position of equality when he was in a position of challenger. If there was a racing incident that had to eliminate one of the two, Lewis (Hamilton) had a lot more to lose than Max (Verstappen). Psychologically, the fact that he resisted the pressure of this race gives him real ascendancy. But Max (Verstappen) won’t be too shaken when he arrives in Abu Dhabi. The season will be played on a race and it will be formidable.