Red Bull team principal Christian Horner executed a finely crafted con job on the race director as the final two laps of the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ticked by.
The subsequent results were a controversial Max Verstappen victory, following a final-lap overtake of Lewis Hamilton, and a bristling tirade from Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
Hamilton appeared to be cruising to a record eighth Formula 1 title late in the 58-lap Yas Marina circuit race, but a Nicholas Latifi crash that occurred as Hamilton and Verstappen navigated the 53rd lap would throw up yet another twist in the incredible world championship fight.
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Hamilton led Verstappen by a tick under 12 seconds when yellow flags were employed following Latifi’s lap-54 accident.
And while Mercedes opted to keep Hamilton on the circuit to retain track position, Red Bull gambled with a second pit stop, switching to soft tyres on lap 54 as Hamilton dawdled behind a safety car.
“That’s unbelievable, man,” Sky Sports picked up Hamilton saying on team radio.
The Briton was staggered at the script-flipping timeliness of Latifi’s crash.
For a moment it appeared that it wouldn’t hijack Hamilton’s pursuit of the title, with race director Michael Masi deciding on lap 56 that the five cars between the first-placed Hamilton and second-placed Verstappen were not allowed to overtake the safety car.
“Yeah, of course, typical decision,” Verstappen bristled to his team.
“I’m not surprised.”
Having to pass five cars just to have a shot at overtaking Hamilton on the final lap loomed as a near-impossible task.
But a cunning Horner would work his charm.
“Why aren’t we getting these lapped cars out of the way?” Horner said to Masi.
Being stuck behind Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel gave Verstappan little hope of snatching the lead come the disappearance of the safety car.
But all it took was one lap – and a dose of Horner persistence – to swing Masi.
“Christian, just give me a second,” Masi said.
“My big one is to get this incident clear.”
Horner continued to heckle.
“We only need one ‘racing’ lap,” he said.
Masi then overturned his call on lap 57, prompting all five drivers positioned between Hamilton and Verstappen to surge past the safety car.
“Michael, this isn’t right,” a seething Wolff said to Masi as Verstappen used the clear track to draw just about level with Hamilton.
Verstappen’s deficit had been wiped in an instant.
From that point Hamilton realistically had no chance of staving off Verstappen on the final-lap shootout.
Hamilton was on hard tyres that he had pitted for on lap 14, whereas Verstappen was on fresh softs.
Hamilton was therefore powerless in his attempt to prevent a turn-five Verstappen overtake and, although the veteran made a valiant attempt to steal the lead back from the rising star on turn nine, surging in his rival’s slip stream in the absence of DRS, his effort amounted to nothing.
“Michael, that was so not right,” Wolff said.
Masi’s reply was terse.
“It’s called a motor race,” he said.
“We went car racing.”
The result of the “car racing” was Hamilton failing to surpass Michael Schumacher as the most successful Formula 1 driver in history, Verstappen clinching his maiden title to the delight of a sea of orange-shirted faithfuls.
The outcome might yet be overturned, with Mercedes lodging its intention to appeal against the FIA’s rulings.
But regardless of whether this year’s world championship is on the cusp of one more twist, Horner’s masterful persuasion of Masi cannot be denied.
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