In the last three Formula 1 races, Abu Dhabi 2021 included, the Safety Car entered the track, with Max Verstappen always in the role of pursuer: in Yas Marina behind Lewis Hamilton, in Sakhir and Gedda the reigning champion instead set out to hunt for Charles Leclerc. In these situations, especially in Abu Dhabi and Jeddah, the Dutchman tried to adopt the same strategy, that is, to work alongside the tread as much as he could, depriving him of the possibility of fully exploiting the outgoing track. Even in Saudi Arabia, Leclerc almost had to close the door on the Dutchman to try to widen.
This was underlined by former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer in an F1TV video: “This isn’t the first time Max has done this. It is the third race in a row in which I see him implement this strategy. He goes next to Leclerc at the last corner and prevents him from widening, to the point that – if one did not know who is first – it would be difficult to understand who is in front and who is behind. It’s about a interesting tactic. All the while, Max stands there and is a nuisance to Charles. I don’t even think it’s against the rules at this point, but it’s a gray area: the rules say you can’t overtake the Safety Car, however it doesn’t say you can’t stand next to those in front of you. No one has complained about it so far, but maybe Leclerc will raise the issue in the next drivers’ meeting“.
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