“I was just reminiscing about 2008 in Spa, when I was fighting Kimi into the last corner of the chicane”– Lewis Hamilton draws comparison post the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix incidents with arch rival Max Verstappen

Inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton compares his tough clash with Kimi Raikkonen at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix.

This might be in the Prophecies of Nostradamus as the events of the Belgium Grand Prix in 2008 mirror those at the Jeddah Corniche circuit held this Sunday.

“Hamilton is on the grass! Raikkonen spins! Hamilton takes the lead! Raikkonen hits the wall and is out of the Grand Prix!” The commentators could not catch a breath while witnessing a dual thriller battle

On a rainy day at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in 2008, Hamilton driving for McLaren back then went off at the chicane and rejoined in front of Raikkonen. He allowed the Ferrari driver to overtake him, then re-passed Raikkonen at the next corner.

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Drawing similarities to it in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021, title leader Max Verstappen was ordered to hand over the lead to Lewis after he passed through the chicane and rejoined in front of him, identical to what happened in Spa in 2008.

The resemblances continued off the track, too, in 2008. Hamilton was given a 25-second time penalty by the stewards and fell to third place for “cutting the chicane and gaining an advantage”.This led to Felipe Massa being promoted to first place ahead of Sauber BMW’s Nick Heidfeld.

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Likewise, on the Jeddah circuit, Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty after the race along with two penalty points on his license but was allowed to keep the second place.

“Dont’t let the FIA screw you in Spa, You’ve got to be careful”- Lewis Hamilton

“Don’t let the FIA screw you in Spa. You’ve got to be careful. They will say it’s OK for you to let Kimi by and that you’ve done enough. And at the end of the race, they will not let you keep that win.

“So you have to do double, you have to do more. Let Kimi by and give him a good margin so they can’t use it as an excuse.” These were the comments Hamilton made in a video on the official F1 website titled “A Letter to My Younger Self”, recalling the rainy event and still believes the penalty was harsh.

Luckily no remorse in 2021. The seven-time world champion won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and is now the overwhelming favourite to make it a record-breaking eight at this season’s finale at the Yas Marina Circuit.