2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 stc Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021) was the 21st race of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit between December 3 and December 5 2021. It was the inaugural F1 race held in Saudi Arabia.
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==Background==
In August 2019, plans for a permanent motorsports complex to be built in the city of Qiddiya were made public. The project was conceived by Test and Training International, a motorsports consultancy headed by former Formula One driver Alexander Wurz, with the objective of creating a world-class circuit capable of hosting all FIA categories through to Formula One.Race Fans: Saudi Arabia plans Spa-beating longest F1 track for first race, accessed on 8 Aug 2019. In January 2020, plans for a race track in Qiddiya were officially confirmed at an event, where track designer Wurz, appeared alongside current and former Formula One drivers who were given the opportunity to drive on the layout in a racing simulator.Autosport.com: New Saudi Arabia circuit in Qiddiya could host F1 race from 2023, accessed on 12 Jan 2020. During the event, it was confirmed that the track was designed to FIA and FIM Grade 1 standards. At the time, Formula One declined to comment on the possibility of a race.BBC: Saudi Arabia unveils plans for F1 race, accessed on 17 Jan 2020
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix first appeared on the first draft of the Formula One provisional calendar, which was shown to teams at a Formula One Commission meeting, held in October 2020.Motorsport.com: Formula 1 set for 23-race calendar in 2021, accessed on 27 Oct 2020. The draft calendar saw all 22 races from the original calendar carried over, with the addition of Saudi Arabia.Motor1.com: Formula 1 set for 23-race calendar in 2021, accessed on 30 Oct 2020. In November 2020, it was announced that the city of Jeddah would host the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in collaboration with the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation.The Race: Formula 1 commits to first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021, accessed on 5 Nov 2020. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit will be located along the banks of the Red Sea.Formula 1: F1 adds Saudi Arabian Grand Prix night race to 2021 calendar, accessed on 5 Nov 2020.
The layout of the street circuit was unveiled on March 18 2021. Designed by Hermann Tilke, the track will be held in the Corniche area in Jeddah. With a length of 6.175 km (3.836 miles), and with a projected average speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), the circuit will be the fastest street circuit ever raced.
The Grand Prix has received criticism from Amnesty International on the grounds of human rights in Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch also condemned the decision arguing that “It is part of a cynical strategy to distract from Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses." Formula One responded by saying that "[Formula One has] made our position on human rights and other issues clear to all our partners and host countries who commit to respect human rights in the way their events are hosted and delivered." and that "[Formula One has] worked hard to be a positive force everywhere it races, including economic, social and cultural benefits."BBC Sport: Saudi Arabian GP on provisional schedule, accessed on 6 November 2020The Guardian: Human rights groups urge driver action over F1 race in Saudi Arabia In February 2021, 45 human rights organizations called on Lewis Hamilton to boycott the Grand Prix citing Saudi Arabia's role in the Yemeni Civil War, its detention of woman's rights activists, and the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Saudi F1 race: Activists urge Lewis Hamilton to speak out on human rights, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lewis-hamilton-saudi-formula-one-human-rightsCarscoops.com: Human Rights Organizations Call On Lewis Hamilton To Boycott Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, accessed on 23 Feb 2021. Saudi Arabia has denied the Grand Prix was being used for sportswashing, arguing that the race is part of a process to open up Saudi Arabia to the outside world.Autosport.com: Saudi Arabia insists F1 grand prix not effort to 'sportswash' image, accessed on 25 Nov 2020.
Following a missile interception in Diriyah during the 2021 Diriyah ePrix Formula E race held earlier in the year, questions were raised about the event's viability. Formula One later stated that they would never go to high security risk areas, though stated that they had "every confidence that the Saudi government and its agencies have both the technology and capability to ensure this safety and security.”
In the last weeks leading to the race weekend, photos circulated online showed that the circuit construction progress appeared to have been behind schedule. Race officials however assured that the track would be finished in time for the weekend, with the track finally receiving approval from the FIA one day before the first practice session on Friday.
On the week of the race, Sebastian Vettel hosted an all-women karting event to promote awareness for women's' rights and encourage women in Saudi Arabia to participate in motorsports.Vettel hosts women-only karting race in Saudi Arabia (autosport.com) 
Lewis Hamilton meanwhile continued to wear his rainbow-colored helmet livery, as he similarly wore at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, to protest the atrocities committed by the restrictive regimes in Middle Eastern countries against the LGBTQ+ community.Hamilton to use rainbow helmet livery in remaining F1 races (motorsport.com) In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is common to be punished by flogging or imprisonment for practicing same-sex behaviors.
One week before the race, Williams co-founder and former owner Frank Williams died at the age of 79. Tributes came in from the motorsport community, with teams sporting tributes on their cars in the weekend, and Alpine sporting a one-off livery to commemorate their 100th race during their partnership with sponsor Castrol. On the eve of the race weekend, Williams CEO Jost Capito was announced to have been tested COVID-positive and therefore missing the weekend.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
4 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
6 	Nicholas Latifi 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
9 	Nikita Mazepin 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Red Bull Racing Honda 	 	RB16B 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	E-Tech 21 1.6L V6t 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 	 	SF21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	E-Tech 21 1.6L V6t 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Red Bull Racing Honda 	 	RB16B 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
47 	Mick Schumacher 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 	 	SF21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
63 	George Russell 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
==Practice==
===FP1===
Lewis Hamilton goes fastest in FP1, followed by Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Both drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, Jr. outperformed the s. A surprise performance by Antonio Giovinazzi who went 5th fastest and Sergio Pérez performed worse than expected in 11th.Motorsport.com: Saudi Arabian GP: Hamilton tops FP1 from Verstappen, https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/saudi-abarian-f1-gp-practice-hamilton-verstappen/6846220/
===FP2===
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in FP2, followed by Valtteri Bottas, Pierre Gasly, and Max Verstappen. Hamilton and Verstappen's qualifying simulations were constantly interrupted by on-track traffic, with the session ending prematurely with five minutes remaining after Leclerc crashed heavily at Turn 23, totaling his car.Motorsport.com: Saudi Arabian GP: Hamilton quickest in FP2 as Leclerc crashes, https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/saudi-arabian-f1-gp-fp2-report-hamilton-leclerc/6846850/
===FP3===
Max Verstappen had the fastest lap in FP3, followed by Hamilton, Perez and the two drivers. Tsunoda and Gasly had a strong performance; in 4th and 5th, respectively. Leclerc took 7th with the help of his mechanics working through the night to fix the damages caused by his crash in FP2.Motorsport.com: Saudi Arabian F1 GP: Verstappen outpaces Hamilton in FP3, https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-saudi-arabian-gp-fp3-report-verstappen-hamilton/6849936/
Post-session, Hamilton was summoned to the stewards for two separate incidents. The first incident was that Hamilton allegedly not slowing down during double waved yellow flags, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing after it was deemed that it was caused by system error. The second incident, involving a near miss with Mazepin, left Hamilton with a reprimand and Mercedes fined €25,000.
===Practice Results===
The full practice results for the are outlined below:
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	FP1 	FP2 	FP2 	FP3 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:30.608	8 	1:29.968	11 	1:29.717	14 	 	 	 	 	
4 	Lando Norris 	 	1:31.029	13 	1:30.004	12 	1:29.300	10 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:30.886	10 	1:30.502	16 	1:30.296	17 	 	 	 	 	
6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	1:31.821	19 	1:31.039	19 	1:30.366	18 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:31.296	16 	1:30.276	7 	1:29.689	13 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	1:33.464	20 	1:31.629	20 	1:30.979	20 	 	 	 	 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	1:30.263	4 	1:29.099	3 	1:28:715	5 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:30.960	11 	1:29.768	9 	1:28:629	3 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:30.842	9 	1:29.441	5 	1:29.418	11 	 	 	 	 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	1:30.600	7 	1:29.772	10 	1:29.101	7 	 	 	 	 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:31.044	14 	1:30.442	15 	1:30.030	15 	 	 	 	 	
22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	1:31.099	15 	1:29.597	8 	1:28:641	4 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:31.023	12 	1:29.555	6 	1:29.177	9 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:29.842	2 	1:29.213	4 	1:28:100	1 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:29.786	1 	1:29.018	1 	1:28:314	2 	 	 	 	 	
47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	1:31.525	18 	1:30.652	18 	1:30.933	19 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	1:30.564	6 	1:29.589	7 	1:29.149	8 	 	 	 	 	
63 	George Russell 	 	1:31.343	17 	1:30.506	17 	1:30.034	16 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:30.009	3 	1:29.079	2 	1:29:019	6 	 	 	 	 	
99 	Antonio Giovinazzi	 	1:30.318	5 	1:30.110	13 	1:29.590	12 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
In a session beset by traffic in late stages, eliminated from Q1 were Latifi, Vettel, Stroll, Schumacher and Mazepin. Bottas, who was second fastest behind Perez, had issues with his engine and ground to a halt at pit entry, but was able to get going again into the next session. Sainz was impeded by Gasly during the session which left the AlphaTauri Frenchman with a warning.
===Q2===
Eliminated from the session were Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Alonso, Russell and Sainz, who spun heavily and damaged his rear wing, compromising his subsequent laps. Raikkonen made contact with Bottas while on the way back to the pits, but no further action was taken.
===Q3===
Verstappen set the fastest overall time with the Mercedes duo behind, with Hamilton messing up on his initial flying lap. Hamilton later beat Verstappen's time with Bottas second fastest behind. Verstappen had gone faster than Hamilton in the first two sectors when he locked up a wheel, ran wide and made contact with the wall at the final turn, damaging his suspension and ultimately handing his title rival pole position, being third fastest.
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	9 	1:28.466 	 	1 	1:27.712 	 	1 	1:27.511 	1
2 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	2 	1:28.057 	 	4 	1:28.054 	 	2 	1:27.622 	2
3 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	5 	1:28.285 	 	3 	1:27.953 	 	3 	1:27.653 	3
4 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	6 	1:28.310 	 	8 	1:28.459 	 	4 	1:28.054 	4
5 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	1 	1:28.021 	 	2 	1:27.946 	 	5 	1:28.123 	5
6 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	8 	1:28.401 	 	6 	1:28.314 	 	6 	1:28.125 	6
7 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	 	7 	1:28.338 	 	7 	1:28.344 	 	7 	1:28.180 	7
8 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	 	10 	1:28.503 	 	5 	1:28.222 	 	8 	1:28.442 	8
9 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	11 	1:28.752 	 	9 	1:28.574 	 	9 	1:28.647 	9
10 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	 	 	13 	1:28.899 	 	10 	1:28.616 	 	10 	1:28.754 	10
11 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	3 	1:28.216 	 	11 	1:28.668 	 	 	 	11
12 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	12 	1:28.856 	 	12 	1:28.885 	 	 	 	12
13 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	15 	1:28.944 	 	13 	1:28.920 	 	 	 	13
14 	63 	George Russell 	 	 	14 	1:28.926 	 	14 	1:29.054 	 	 	 	14
15 	55 	Carlos Sainz 	 	 	4 	1:28.237 	 	15 	1:53.652 	 	 	 	15
16 	6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	 	16 	1:29.177 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	17 	1:29.198 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	18 	1:29.368 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	 	19 	1:29.464 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	 	20 	1:30.473 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182 	107% Time: 1:34.182
Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)	Source: - Qualifying, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/qualifying.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021. Retrieved on 4 Dec 2021)
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
===Grid===
The starting grid of the feature race of the is outined below:
Show Grid
==Race==
===Report===
An hour before the race, a moment of silence was observed in honor of the late Sir Frank Williams. 1996 champion Damon Hill also gave demonstration laps in the 1980 Williams FW08.
Hamilton and Bottas led out of the start; with the top five drivers maintaining their positions, heading into the second lap. A few incidents unfolded behind, with Tsunoda dropping places after making contact with Ocon, and Stroll forced off-track at Turn 5 while running alongside Russell. As the Top 5 began pulling away from the field, Hamilton was constantly setting fastest laps; meanwhile Sainz, who had started in 15th, was making progress pushing through the midfield.
The first incident began on the tenth lap, when Schumacher lost his rear and crashed his Haas heavily into the barriers at Turns 22 and 23 (in the same manner as Leclerc's FP2 crash), deploying the safety car. The Mercedes drivers and several others, including Perez pitted during this period, while Verstappen, who was held up by Bottas in order to facilitate a double-stack from Mercedes, stayed out and took the lead, and he had an added bonus when the red flag was called on Lap 14 to repair the barriers, a move that was criticized by some, including Hamilton, with commentator David Croft calling the red flag a "controversial" decision by race officials. Those who did not pit before the red flag, such as Ocon and Ricciardo, gained a massive advantage in positions; 4th and 5th, respectively.
The race was restarted at 9:15 pm local time, with Verstappen on pole and Hamilton alongside. Hamilton accelerated better than Verstappen on the restart, with Verstappen cutting Turns 1-2 and retaking the lead, Hamilton dropping to behind Ocon in the process, while Bottas locked up and dropped down to 5th behind Ricciardo. More chaos unfolded at Turn 3 as the field traversed the next turns, as Leclerc tagged Perez into spinning and causing the Mexican's retirement, and Mazepin ploughed into Russell who was avoiding Perez, both retiring on the spot as the red flag was deployed once again. During the red flag period, a negotiation with race control decided that Ocon would take the restart on pole, followed by Hamilton and Verstappen.
The second restart took place at 9:40 pm local time, with Verstappen taking the lead again and Hamilton dropping to third behind Ocon as the both cut through Turns 1 and 2. Hamilton made contact with Ocon in the process but with no major damage on his wing, passed him for second at the start of the next lap, now reeling into his rival. A virtual safety car was called on Lap 23, when Tsunoda, who had been advancing in the field, collided with Vettel and broke his front wing, but got going after reversing several times to dislodge it, the Japanese receiving a 5-second time penalty as a result of the collision. Alonso had a spin shortly after the VSC, dropping down to the field.
Another VSC was called on Lap 30 as this time Vettel collided with his former Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen, at this point the Aston Martin now shredding debris all over the track. The green flag did not last long as two more VSCs were called again in order for more debris to be cleared.
Controversy then began on Lap 37, as Hamilton had made use of DRS to pass Verstappen on the main straight, but Verstappen took back the lead cutting Turns 1 and 2, prompting the team to order Verstappen to give back the position. As he did so coming into the final turn, Verstappen abruptly slowed, causing Hamilton to collide into him and damaging his front wing. Despite the damage, Hamilton continued setting fastest laps and closed back into Verstappen again, who ceded the lead to him on the last turn again but reclaiming the lead as Hamilton ran wide. Verstappen was then issued a 5-second time penalty for the corner cutting, before Hamilton finally took back the lead for good on the last corner on Lap 43 as the Dutchman's medium rubber started to lose performance. Bottas meanwhile had cleared Ricciardo for 4th during the chaos, as Vettel retired with a damaged car with five laps remaining.
Hamilton ultimately claimed the win at the inaugural race on the corniche course, with Verstappen finishing nearly seven seconds behind having lost pace on worn rubber, but with five seconds added to his race time due to the penalty from corner-cutting. The drama however was all but not over, as right at the finish line, Bottas nicked the final podium position from Ocon, and Verstappen was then issued a further 10-second time penalty afterwards for causing Hamilton to collide into him, but the gap from Bottas meant that Verstappen retained his second-place finish. Completing the points would be Ricciardo, Gasly, Leclerc, Sainz, Giovinazzi and Norris, who was among those pitted during the safety car and dropped to the back during the red flag periods.
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	50 	2:06:15.118 	1 	26
2 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	50 	+21.825* 	3 	18
3 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	50 	+27.531 	2 	15
4 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	50 	+27.633 	9 	12
5 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	50 	+40.121 	11 	10
6 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	50 	+41.613 	6 	8
7 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	50 	+44.475 	4 	6
8 	55 	Carlos Sainz 	 	50 	+46.606 	15 	4
9 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	 	50 	+58.505 	10 	2
10 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	50 	+1:01.358 	7 	1
11 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	50 	+1:17.212 	18 	
12 	6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	50 	+1:23.249 	16 	
13 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	49 	+1 Lap 	13 	
14 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	49 	+1 Lap† 	8 	
15 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	49 	+1 Lap 	12 	
 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	44 	Collision damage 	17 	
 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	14 	Collision 	5 	
 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	14 	Collision 	20 	
 	63 	George Russell 	 	14 	Collision 	14 	
 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	8 	Accident 	19 	
Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)	Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)	Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)	Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)	Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)	Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)	Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)	Source: - Race Result, https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1106/saudi-arabia/race-result.html, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2021), accessed on 5 Dec 2021)
* * Verstappen was first given a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining advantage, before receiving a 10-second post-race time penalty for causing a collision with Hamilton.
* † Tsunoda finished 13th, but was given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Vettel.
==Milestones==
* The first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix held.
** Saudi Arabia is the 34th sovereign nation to host a Formula One Grand Prix.
** The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is the 75th venue to host Formula One.
* 100th race for Valtteri Bottas in .
* 103rd pole position and race win for Lewis Hamilton, 1th hat trick.
* 20th Hamilton-Bottas-Verstappen (in any order) podium.
* 21st and final race start for Nikita Mazepin.
==Standings==
The dramatic finish saw Hamilton tying with Verstappen in the drivers' standings heading into the final round; the first time since the 1974 Formula One season, wherein Emerson Fittipaldi won ahead of Clay Regazzoni. However, Verstappen holds an advantage since the tiebreaker considers the number of race wins this season, which Verstappen has 9 compared to Hamilton with 8. 
 extended their lead to 28 points in the constructors' standings from , following Perez' retirement and Verstappen unable to strategically deny Hamilton the fastest lap point due to the time penalties imposed. Both drivers outscored by one point after the race, meaning Ferrari were all but guaranteed to secure third in the constructors' championship, heading into Abu Dhabi. Despite losing out the podium position, Ocon closed into within 5 points of his team-mate.
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Max Verstappen 	369.5 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	369.5 	
3 	Valtteri Bottas 	218 	
4 	Sergio Pérez 	190 	
5 	Charles Leclerc 	158 	1
6 	Lando Norris 	154 	1
7 	Carlos Sainz 	149.5 	
8 	Daniel Ricciardo 	115 	
9 	Pierre Gasly 	100 	
10 	Fernando Alonso 	77 	
11 	Esteban Ocon 	72 	
12 	Sebastian Vettel 	43 	
13 	Lance Stroll 	34 	
14 	Yuki Tsunoda 	20 	
15 	George Russell 	16 	
16 	Kimi Räikkönen 	10 	
17 	Nicholas Latifi 	7 	
18 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	3 	
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	587.5 	
2 	 	559.5 	
3 	 	307.5 	
4 	 	269 	
5 	 	149 	
6 	 	120 	
7 	 	77 	
8 	 	23 	
9 	 	13 	
Only point-scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
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References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2021 Formula One Season
Category:2021 Grands Prix
Category:Saudi Arabian Grand Prix