Chaos reigned at one of the best F1 races in decades, marked by crashes galore, gamesmanship, and more twists than a Hollywood thriller

• Crashes, gamesmanship and stewards penalties made Sunday's Saudi Arabia Grand Prix one of the best ever.
• Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battled for the lead throughout, and at one point, collided.

Formula One fans were treated to one of the best races in years at Sunday's inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the penultimate race in one of the most dramatic seasons in recent memory.

The race, held on a brand new track in the coastal city of Jeddah, had crashes, drivers pushing the limits of what is allowed, and lots of anger.

The result of the chaos is that the 2021 F1 season is set up for a winner-takes-all shootout in the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi next weekend.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton are tied on 369.5 after a remarkable season which continued in Saudi Arabia.

Hamilton started on pole after Verstappen crashed during qualifying, and got away well, holding a strong early lead with his teammate Valtteri Bottas behind him and Verstappen in third. For the first nine laps of the race, Hamilton looked comfortable in the lead.

A crash from Mick Schumacher during the 10th lap, however, turned the Saudi Grand Prix on its head.

Schumacher's crash brought out the safety car, and meant teams were faced with a choice over whether or not to pit for fresher tires.

The Mercedes drivers decided to pit, but Verstappen, crucially, did not.

He and Red Bull gambled on a red flag being shown. Under a red flag the race stops and all drivers must return to the pit lane.

Red Bull's gamble paid off when the track marshals deemed it unsafe to make the necessary repairs to the wall that Schumacher had hit with cars still going round the track, waving the red flags and temporarily stopping the race.

The drivers returned to the pits, Verstappen was given a new set of tires, and looked to be in prime position to keep hold of the lead he had gained by not pitting.

At the start, however, Hamilton got the jump on his Dutch rival, and found himself in the lead for a brief period until Verstappen, who had momentarily gone off track, retook the lead. He did so, however, illegally.

As this drama unfolded at the front of the race, there was even more going on behind. Two crashes, one involving Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez, and another between Haas' Nikita Mazepin and Williams' George Russell, forced another red flag.

While the cars waited for a second restart, Red Bull was offered the chance by the race director Michael Masi for Verstappen to give back the position he gained illegally from Hamilton by overtaking off the track.

As such, Hamilton started second at the second restart, lining up behind Alpine's Esteban Ocon, but ahead of Verstappen.

This time it was Verstappen's turn to get away faster and he overtook Hamilton before retaking the race lead by passing Ocon.

As Hamilton and Verstappen fought once more for the lead, the Dutch driver again went off track in order to stay ahead and was once more told to give the lead back to Hamilton.

However, as he attempted to do so, Hamilton crashed into the back of him with the British driver claiming Verstappen had deliberately slowed down, a move known as a "brake check."

The incident pushed Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff to throw his headphones to the ground in fury, while Hamilton called Verstappen "fucking crazy," on team radio.

Later, Verstappen did surrender the lead but only for a brief moment before capitalizing on a DRS zone to retake first position.

The thrilling battle was then brought to a premature close when Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty for his illegal overtake on Hamilton earlier in the race.

With Hamilton's Mercedes looking faster on race pace than the Red Bull, the penalty effectively guaranteed the Brit victory.

Hamilton would later go on to overtake a non-defending Verstappen on his way to his eighth win of the season.

This all means that both drivers are on 369.5 points heading into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.