Abu Dhabi GP: Lewis Hamilton leads Max Verstappen in F1 title fight – LIVE!

lap 35/58 Lando Norris’ parents will probably have to content themselves with yesterday’s P3 effort; He is now seventh, trying to struggle back after a terrible start to the race.

lap 34/58 No movement at Verstappen’s second stop, but it is certainly coming because what more can Red Bull do? The lead is now 5.441s, each lap increasing the work that will be needed to fill the title.

lap 33/58 Bottas is now ninth, and trying to pass Leclerc, the door is slammed into his Chevy chase. Hamilton is ahead by 5.016 seconds.

lap 32/58 Hamilton’s lead creeps in five seconds as natural light falls and the scene always looks more colorful and intense – though let’s be real with ourselves about what makes this possible and why.

lap 31/58 Hamilton adds 0.3 more to his lead, but Red Bull knows that if they pit well, Verstappen will overtake Bottas … who pits now. It’s a good gap with something to try, but whether the new tires are enough to close the gap of about 24 seconds, or the gap of four seconds and whatever it takes to hammer Hamilton’s putative pit, That remains to be seen – at best.

lap 30/58 Hamilton sets up the fastest lap to take his lead by over four seconds, so I think he’s well informed about the impending second stop and about to put his foot down.

lap 29/58 As ridiculous as the start we might guess, things have settled down, and Red Bull needs to try something, anything. And as I type this, we learn they’re considering another pit; I wonder if Hamilton would have to do the same? Lead is 3.824s.

lap 28/58 Ach, as Barry Davis would say – that’s a shame. But what a career!

lap 27/58 Raikkonen’s brakes knocked him down, the rear axle locked, and he crashed to the side. Meanwhile, Hamilton extended his lead to 3.737, but Bottas is 20 seconds behind Verstappen, so not sure if he will be able to help his teammate.

lap 26/58 Raikkonen’s front wing is damaged; Can he make it to the pit so that he can finish his final race?

lap 25/58 “Perhaps an interesting idea,” returns Steve Ditchburn. “Red Bull has shown that you can use your second driver to slow down the opposition, so why doesn’t Mercedes get Bottas to maneuver himself between Hamilton and Verstappen and do the same, if only half For laps. It can make a difference of a few seconds.”

Yeah, if Bottas can come before Verstappen it’s over.

lap 24/58 Hamilton leads, followed by Verstappen, Bottas, Perez, Alonso, Gasly, Sainz, Norris, Leclerc, Tsnoda, Ocon, Ricciardo, Latifi, Russell, Giovinazzi, Vettel, Stroll, Raikkonen, Schumacher.

lap 23/58 Hamilton is leading again, 2.446s ahead, and it’s hard to see a way out for Verstappen. The lad he’s chasing now sets the fastest lap.

lap 22/58 Perez’s Red Bull Radio Calls “Full Beast,” Who Did a FayeNamethere anal job.

“I’m a fan of Hamilton so I may be biased,” admits Joe Balfour, “but where could Lewis go? Max went too hard, Lewis couldn’t turn left without hitting him. Pauses, then hits from behind. Max knew what he was doing, just didn’t expect Lewis to take the route he did. Should Lewis have slowed down to let Max back in? Maybe, but Lewis After K came back on the track and Max out of the corner the distance between the two was much longer and then reduced. So maybe that’s why Lewis was perceived as giving back the blank? Looking forward to the full race But I don’t think Hamilton did anything wrong. Good luck keeping up.”

i’m not sure hamilton Was To go, and I don’t think he gave back what he had taken. But as I keep saying, I see both sides, so probably the status quo is the best solution.

lap 21/58 That’s awesome stuff from Perez, puts Hamilton up, and the difference from Hamilton to Verstappen is now 1.241! He has pulled his teammate back into the race, and although Hamilton eventually went ahead with the barrel, the difference of over six seconds is now 1.3 seconds! have a look!

lap 20/58 Hamilton has nearly four seconds ahead of Perez, so it probably won’t take long for him to pass. And the gap is now disappearing in chunks, down to 0.403, while Sainz pits so Verstappen is now third. And there it is, Hamilton goes by Perez, but Perez saves energy from his battery to boost back past with Drs! What work is he doing for his partner!

lap 19/58 “Stuck on the couch outside the women’s changing room, (my wife is here, I’m not a weirdo), Adam begs Pope,” with marginal WiFi signal. Your feed is what’s stopping me from dying slowly from the inside out right now.”

That’s why we are here!

lap 18/58 Sainz has helped Hamilton by sticking in front of Verstappen, while Perez is doing the same for Verstappen, who is now 5.579 in front of Hamilton.

lap 17/58 At the turn seven shenanigans, Mercedes Reckon Verstappen forced Hamilton out. Although he didn’t touch, that’s because Hamilton took the evasive action, which is how he sees it. Again, I’m not sure: I see both sides, but Verstappen has been unlucky.

lap 16/58 Verstappen would like Perez to try to slow down Hamilton; He’ll probably be there for as long as possible, trying to work out a job for his partner. Verstappen is closing in on Sainz, and soon he will be back directly behind Hamilton.

lap 15/58 Now Hamilton is in the pit, so Perez leads the race and here comes Hamilton! He comes in second, 11.513 behind, with Verstappen five or more seconds behind and two places behind him.

lap 14/58 Verstappen Pit! That should be the only stop of his race and where is he going to leave? He is fifth, probably as a consequence, as Leclerc drives and loses a spot to Tsunoda! Meanwhile, Verstappen passes Norris, and is now trailing 27.525 seconds.

lap 13/58 Verstappen will have to pit soon – it will be the next big event, and his tires are already aggravating him, the result of a locked-tire error yesterday, when he didn’t even need to be out there. That’s the thing with sports, it’s often won over in the details, and the details often equate to thinking clearly all the time.

lap 12/58 Hamilton is now second fast, leading 4.686, and now it’s really hard to see a way out for Verstappen. Unless Hamilton makes a serious mistake, or his car fails him, or something strange happens behind them, meaning a safety car is essential, it sounds like it’s done.

lap 11/58 “I think Max only stayed on the track because he actually hit Lewis and used his car to stop him from leaving the track.” Steve Dichburn emailed. “However, I really don’t think Lewis gave back what he got. One could say that Max set the standard for this kind of behavior, so maybe he deserved the result.

I know what you mean, but you have to look at each case on its own merits and Verstappen certainly had an end to it. But the reality is it was marginal, so it’s hard to say much about the call, whatever it may be. Although of course we will enjoy the efforts made.

lap 10/58 Pirelli Reckon Verstappen’s tyres, supplied by him, work for about 15 laps. But Red Bull will be able to use Perez in third to try to catch Hamilton when he comes out of the pits

lap 9/58 If Verstappen had to pit first, he would have a problem because the grounds are too close together, so he would soon be stuck in traffic. It seems that Hamilton’s mediums have more momentum than his softs, which means Red Bull is closed.

lap 8/58 Jenson Button does not understand the rules, noting that in Brazil both men were kicked off the track while Veratapen stayed here. Who thought it would be easy? Meanwhile, Hamilton is ahead by 2.309 s and Piperez is ahead by 5.593 s.

lap 7/58 More than the stewards, who think Hamilton handed back what he took and Verstappen forced the position. I’m still not sure – I’m leaning towards Horner’s approach, but Rosberg thinks Verstappen lunged, although he also thinks the distance was not back.

lap 6/58 Horner is as happy as you’d expect. He is “a bit shocked” and “not at best pleased”, saying it is not like Brazil, when Verstappen survived, and “a total lack of uniformity”. After David Croft pressed him, saying that drivers were told to stay within the white lines, Verstappen did so, and now he “has to do it the hard way”.

lap 5/58 Hamilton leads by 1.904, followed by Verstappen, Perez, Sainz, Norris, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Bottas, Ocon, Ricciardo. This is our top 10, for all that matters.

lap 4/58 I doubt we’ve heard the last of it, and the stewards may have thought Verstappen kicked Hamilton off the track. I don’t know, it looked to me as if he directly overtook her, took over the top, and grabbed her. Meanwhile, Hamilton is ahead by about 1.6 seconds.

lap 3/58 Red Bull is not happy, but in the eyes of the stewards, Hamilton slowed down enough that he returned the extra meter he was given while taking the escape road. It seems a reach to me, I must say.

lap 2/58 Hamilton moves a second and a bit, but that moment at turn seven will certainly be the subject of an investigation: Did Hamilton cut the corner? What happened was that as Verstappen tried to take him straight, he went on the escape road, leading back to the front!