Stop with the predictions. Stop with the script writing. You just can’t tell where this Formula 1 season is going to take us next.
On Thursday, the consensus among many observers was that Max Verstappen was closing in on the title, heading to a track expected to still favour Red Bull – although not as much as Mexico City – with a 19-point advantage. After Lewis Hamilton took a new power unit component and associated five-place grid penalty on Friday, that feeling only grew.
By Friday afternoon, it felt like game on as Hamilton’s immense pace with his new engine gave him first place on the grid for the Sprint. Suddenly, he was going to walk to victory this weekend.
