Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car," said the 38-year-old Briton. Hamilton trailed Verstappen by 21 points going into the race but is now only 14 behind with three meetings left. He emphasised how, despite the penalties over the weekend, he refused to be bowed and got past nine drivers on Sunday to win, including a tense battle against Verstappen. “Mentally you can just think it’s over, it’s impossible,” he said. “Nothing is if you put your mind to it. That’s really why we just cultivated a positive mental attitude and went in fighting, guns blazing.” On the contrary, we just need to really dig deep and deeper than we have ever done and provide both drivers with a car they are able to fight with.

Russell retired from fourth place a few laps after the restart with an engine failure - a weekend that had started with a superb second place on the grid ending in frustration. A more mature, complete driver now, Verstappen’s youthful excesses have been largely curbed and his judgement is more circumspect although he remains an aggressively confrontational driver, uncompromising with his elbows as Hamilton discovered this season.

Pérez leaves his home race with his future at Red Bull once more under intense scrutiny but for Mercedes and Hamilton this was perhaps as optimistic as they have been all season as finally there is a sense that next year Verstappen might not quite have it all his own way. While in the UAE, death, life in prison, floggings, forced anal examinations and hormone injections, among other grisly punishments, await LGBT+ people. It was the second successive event where Hamilton has shown strong pace, after he pushed Verstappen close for the win in Austin, only to be disqualified for excessive plank wear. A race which began with Russell overtaking Verstappen off the line turned to despair with a power unit failure The bizarre and controversial climax

The seven-time former World Champion was first linked with becoming a citizen of Brazil after winning last year’s grand prix at Interlagos, his third victory at the venue where he also captured his first Drivers’ title in 2008. Sainz benefited, promoted to fourth place by Russell's problem and slowly pushing up to challenge Hamilton and Alonso but unable to pass them. It’s extremely encouraging to see Lewis Hamilton speaking out on women’s and LGBTI rights in Saudi Arabia like this,” he said. “It’s high-profile interventions like Lewis’s that help undo some of the sportwashing effects of Saudi-hosted events such as the Jeddah Grand Prix.Hamilton, who was talking to the latest edition of BBC Radio 5 Live's Chequered Flag podcast, said he still believed Mercedes could return to the front at some point. Racing fans worldwide were blown away by Lewis Hamilton’s remarkable win as well as his stark show of allyship with the LGBT+ community. Do I feel comfortable here? I wouldn’t say I do,” he said. “But it’s not my choice to be here, the sport has taken the choice to be here.” Great Britain’s Lewis Hamilton made a statement wearing his Pride flag helmet as he won the first-ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.