One of the craziest races of all time would follow this on Sunday, the penultimate round of the 2021 season.
It was Max Verstappen's first matchpoint to take his first world championship over Lewis Hamilton, who had taken pole in Saturday's qualifying session.
After early red flags, corner cutting and field reshuffling, Lap 37 saw the tensions of a close fought season reach a boiling point.
Coming through the Pit Straight, Lewis launches a move around the outside of Max who, similarly to an earlier incident between the two in Brazil, defends aggressively with his favorite wheel to wheel move.
Red Bull are quickly instructed to hand the position back to Lewis which they promptly do as Max slows down on the straight.
Lewis, however, is not told of Red Bull's instructions in time leading to confusion as he slows down himself behind his championship rival.
Small movements from the Red Bull further mystify the world champion and, out of nowhere, the two rivals make contact as both are unaware of the other's intentions.
Max quickly gets on the throttle and speeds off in to the distance following this incident, bewildering Lewis even further.
Once the dust settles (a bit), Max lets Lewis through once more while also receiving a penalty for his earlier Turn 1 corner cutting.
Lewis takes the win and levels the points heading to the final round in Abu Dhabi.
Unbeknownst to the teams and fans, the Finale would hold only even more controversy.