The Red, The Silver, and The Girl Who Liked Both

The Race and The Fight

Lewis enjoyed a rapid start, his teammate blocking Max, who was nearly collected by Checo behind – the Mexican locking up to avoid contact. Leclerc held station in P4 while Pierre fell two places to P8 with overheating brakes, promoting Norris one place and Esteban Ocon two, to P6 and P7 respectively.

Lewis's mediums were five laps older than Max's, so Bottas's job was to keep Max at bay as he began to feel the effects of Lewis's turbulent wake. But the field would soon bunch together when Schumacher spun and crashed at Turn 23 on Lap 10, triggering a Safety Car.

The leader pitted for hards along with teammate Bottas and Checo – for mediums – while Max stayed out for track position. The Dutchman was left furious, however, as during the caution Bottas appeared to slow considerably in front of him to ensure a sublime double-stacked pit stop for the Silver Arrows. But the ball soon fell into Max's court, the race red-flagged on Lap 13 for barrier repairs – giving Max a free tire change in the pits.

After the 18-minute stoppage, Max would therefore lead a title-defining standing restart alongside Lewis in P2, Bottas in third, and Ocon fourth – having swapped tires during the red flag along with Ricciardo in P5.

On Lap 15 of 50, the lights once again went out.

Lewis got the best of Max, squeezing his best friend wide. The Dutchman ran back onto the track and cut back across Turn 2 into the lead – making slight contact with the Mercedes – with the Briton dropping to third behind Ocon. Meanwhile, Bottas locked up and dropped to fifth behind Danny. All of a sudden, Checo was on Lap 15, as were the red flags once again.

As I found out, both Red Bull and Mercedes were lobbying with Race Director Michael Masi for at least P2. As it turned out the order would be Ocon in first, Lewis second and Max third – on brand-new medium compounds – for a standing start on Lap 17.

Ocon led away but Lewis attempted to edge in front, the two making contact while Max sliced down the inside of Turn 1 with a terrific move. Ocon cut across the Turn 2 run-off but instantly yielded to Max who was now in the lead. On Lap 18, Lewis swept by the Alpine for P2 and was now back on the charge.

Lewis was within a second of his best friend by Lap 22 and one lap later he would have DRS. A Virtual Safety Car was soon called on Lap 24 as Yuki – up to P9 in the second restart – tagged and spun Vettel and lost his front wing at Turn 1, the AlphaTauri driver taking a five-second penalty for his troubles. Soon after, Kimi Raikkonen tried to pass Vettel but made contact with him, leaving the track showered in carbon fiber – with another VSC coming out on Lap 30 as a result.

That VSC period, during which Max's medium tires enjoyed a welcome break, lasted until Lap 33, after which the Red Bull once again led away. But soon Lewis was within DRS range. And then on Lap 36, another VSC was called to retrieve another piece of Vettel's car. I nearly couldn't believe how much this race was stopping and going. That was brief, though, and resumption followed seconds after with Lewis just seven-tenths off the leader.

The Briton attempted a move on the Dutchman with DRS down the main straight on Lap 37 and had his nose ahead, but Max braked late and prevented his rival from leading. The Red Bull ran off-track and retained the lead but was soon instructed to give it back. So he slowed on the back part of the circuit – only for Lewis to get caught off guard and clip the rear of his car, taking wing damage too. As I heard much later after the fact from some Red Bull Engineers: Team Principal Toto Wolff's headphones took the brunt of his anger; Race Control's switchboard lit up once again.

On Lap 42 Lewis closed in once again and, again, seemed to have the best of Max at Turn 1. But the Red Bull driver afforded him little space, Lewis going off track at Turn 2, and Max continued in the lead. However, this time, the stewards stepped in and gave the championship leader a five-second time penalty. Two laps later, Lewis attempted another pass at the final corner – but this time shoved Max wide and took the lead.