Verstappen involved in Turn One crash as five drivers forced out of Hungarian Grand Prix
Monday, 2 August 2021
A dramatic start leaves drivers out of the race.
The Hungarian Grand Prix began in a chaotic fashion as five drivers crashed out on Turn One, with championship leader Max Verstappen also heavily affected.
Verstappen was forced to retire early after a collision with Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix, which the Mercedes driver went on to win.
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Red Bull were unhappy with the penalty handed out to Hamilton, who made contact with Verstappen at Copse Corner at Silverstone two weeks ago.
This time, it was Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas who was clearly at fault on a wet and greasy first turn at the Hungaroring.
He failed to time his braking, clipping Lando Norris, who in turn span into both Red Bulls, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc also caught up in the chaos.
How Leclerc and Stroll dropped out on the opening lap 💥#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/3jZwAIlw70
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2021
Verstappen had been in third but slumped down to ninth before heading into the pits and dropping a further four places before the red flag was raised due to debris on the track.
His team-mate Sergio Perez could not continue, with Leclerc, Bottas and Lance Stroll all out of the race.
"I think basically Bottas made a big mistake and took everyone out of the race, it's a big shame. It's a massive loss for us as a team," Perez told Sky Sports.
"I don't know what to say. It's a big mistake, we will leave it up to them [the race stewards]."
Hamilton, who is hunting his 100th F1® race win after clinching pole, escaped unscathed with his lead intact, with the pause to the race at least giving Red Bull the chance to repair Verstappen's car.
However, McLaren were unable to get Norris – who was on a 15-race streak of finishing in the points and had made a fantastic start – back on the track, making it five out of the race in total.
