Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are, arguably, the two best drivers on the grid, and they did not achieve that by sitting back and being passive.
During the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend, they both tried something ambitious, and perhaps a little naughty, during the Virtual Safety Car period, and it did not work as they hoped.
Verstappen got off to a poor start on Sunday after fuel issues in qualifying had seen him start eighth, and he ended up outside the points on lap one, while Hamilton lost third place to Carlos Sainz.
The Dutchman was making his way up the order, and he had reached the back of Lando Norris’ McLaren in the battle for fifth.
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Hamilton had been stuck behind Sainz for the entirety of the first stint, but a possible opportunity presented itself when Esteban Ocon stopped on track, causing a Virtual Safety Car.
During the lengthy caution period, Hamilton was doing his best to put himself firmly in Sainz’s wing mirror, and he even put his nose in front the Spaniard on occasion as he tried to get the jump when the green flags returned.
In anticipation of flat-out racing, Verstappen tried to time his restart on the way into Turn Seven, but he passed Norris right before the green flags were waved, so was forced to give the position back.
Hamilton and Verstappen fans, who have been petulantly going at each other since their title battle last season, amusingly wondered why their counterpart drivers did not get a penalty for their respective antics under yellows.
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Hamilton and Verstappen would eventually both go off at Turn Seven, before the Dutchman passed the seven-time champion late on in the race on his way to seventh ahead of Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton was forced to settle for ninth as Sergio Perez avoided a harsh sanction for a Safety Car infringement of his own to take victory after a commanding display.
A victory with the fastest lap in Japan next weekend guarantees Verstappen his second consecutive world title.