Red Bull driver Max Verstappen crashed after suffering a collision with Lewis Hamilton during Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
The two F1 title rivals were battling it out for the entire opening lap at Silverstone, with the Red Bull race-leader on the defensive throughout.
But just halfway through lap one, disaster struck for Verstappen after he was sent veering off the track and into the barriers.
Hamilton was alongside his fellow driver as his front-left wheel touched Verstappen’s back-right tyre.
The Dutchman escaped unscathed but will be unable to continue, while Hamilton also minor suffered damage to his car.
The British race was temporarily suspended due to the incident, as race control began investigating the incident to see if Hamilton was at fault for the collision.
The Mercedes driver instantly began blaming Verstappen for the crash.
Meanwhile, Red Bull were furious in their garage as they lamented the incident and the behaviour of the Mercedes driver.
Team chief Christian Horner called it “dirty driving” from the world champion while speaking to Channel 4.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he had sent an email to the FIA, showing diagrams of the incident, defending his man.
Verstappen was seen exiting an ambulance, appearing to be without injury.
And it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who benefitted from the crash, overtaking the Brit as he sent Verstappen off the track.
Hamilton managed to keep second-place, ahead of his team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
The incident caps off a poor weekend for Red Bull, who watched second driver Sergio Perez spin off track during Saturday’s sprint race.
The Mexican started Sunday’s race at the back of the grid.
Red Bull still lead the drivers and constructors championship.
But Hamilton will be hoping to capitalise on this incident and close the gap on his title rival Verstappen this afternoon.
To add, the home fans in attendance in the Midlands this afternoon will be delighted to see their man in with a shout of taking maximum points this weekend.
