WATCH: Dejected Max Verstappen Walks Out of the Podium Ceremony at Saudi Arabian GP

The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has certainly turned out to be a massive success, arguably one of the most entertaining races of the season, as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen desperately battled each other for the win through all of the 50 laps.

Neither of the drivers embraced a dominant stint, as the lead was constantly changing hands from one driver to another. And at one point, it almost looked like Verstappen could become the ultimate race winner. However, controversy engulfed the race as the victory, instead, fell into the hands of Hamilton.

The Dutchman looked absolutely dejected with the result, and, on top of that, he looked utterly drained out after the physically demanding race. Hence, amidst the growing disappointment, Verstappen was in no mood to celebrate.

Mercedes celebrate as Max Verstappen walk out of the podium

The podium ceremony began, and the trophies were handed out after the playing of the national anthems. And the next in line was the champagne celebration.

Max wanted nothing to do with those celebrations pic.twitter.com/JbwQoWffG3

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) December 5, 2021

Hamilton, Bottas, and the Mercedes engineer celebrated their immensely successful result. Hamilton of all was on cloud nine after having beaten his resilient rival, Verstappen, and equaled him in terms of points in the championship.

Meanwhile, Verstappen did not care to turn his head and look towards Mercedes’ podium celebrations. Instead, the Dutchman kept his head down and walked out of the podium with the trophy in one hand and the champagne bottle in the other.

Bitter-sweet race for Verstappen

One can never say that Verstappen had poor luck in Saudi Arabia. He had his fair share of luck, like the initial red flag call and escaping the very first Hamilton incident by giving up only two positions rather than facing a penalty.

Red Bull tried everything from their power to help Verstappen grab onto such lucky moments. And he did. But, escaping from Hamilton’s sight on the track was a rather mountainous task for the Dutchman, as the duo constantly remained less than 2 seconds away, which led to a string of controversial incidents.

Formula One F1- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – December 5, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates with the trophy on the podium after winning the race alongside third placed Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Ultimately, Verstappen proved no match against the dominant Mercedes pace. And along with the blistering pace of Mercedes, Verstappen also fell victim to the tire disadvantage late in the race which added more woes to his time penalty.

Hence, a rather ‘damage limitation’ race for Verstappen, as he now finds himself equal on points, heading to Abu Dhabi. But, who’s taking home the championship trophy?

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