Jeddah, December 6: Lewis Hamilton won an extraordinary Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to move level on points with Max Verstappen in the Formula One drivers' championship as the race set new standards for drama.

Saturday's qualifying session saw Hamilton take pole as Verstappen crashed while on a lap that would have put him at the front of the grid, but that proved just a mere taster for an utterly remarkable main event dominated by a plethora of controversial incidents.

Verstappen got ahead after the season's penultimate race was red-flagged twice in the first 16 laps, but a series of virtual safety cars kept Hamilton in touch with his Red Bull rival, who went beyond track limits to keep the lead at the first corner on lap 37 in an incident eerily similar to their famous tangle in Brazil.

Hamilton braced for 'intense' Saudi GP as F1 champs bids to keep title defence alive

Verstappen was subsequently instructed to give the place back, only for Hamilton to crash into the back of him as he seemingly attempted to do so. Then Verstappen successfully gave it back at turn 27, but did so in a DRS zone, enabling him to immediately retake the lead.

At that point, Verstappen was again told to give the position back, with that incident to be investigated after the race, and he was served with a five-second time penalty for the previous tangle at turn one, effectively ending his hopes of victory.

Rear tyre degradation saw Verstappen back off and Hamilton claimed the fastest-lap bonus point to level matters on 369.5 points, though it is the Dutchman who still holds first place having won nine races to the Mercedes driver's eight.

Over the limit

The battling drivers were set to go before the stewards in the meantime, and speaking to reporters after the race, Hamilton said: "For me, I really had to try and just keep my cool, which was really difficult to do.

"I've raced a lot of drivers through my life, I've come across a lot of different characters, there are few that are over the limit, rules don't apply. I just tried to keep my car on the track, do it the right way."

On the collision, Hamilton said: "He obviously brake-tested to try to get the DRS into the last corner. I thought that I lost my wing.

"He's over the limit. I've avoided collision on so many occasions with the guy. I didn't get the information [that Verstappen was conceding position] so I didn't really understand what was going on, it was very confusing.

"The message started coming through as he hit the brakes so hard. It will be interesting to see what happens [with the stewards]."