07/18/2021 11:39 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 07/18/2021 4:23 PM
It was pure drama that the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Great Britain was launched, the tenth date of the season.
Because Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the two great champions of the championship, collided at the start, the Dutchman ended up crashing his
Red Bull
against the retaining wall and had to leave.
Meanwhile,
after a quick investigation, the Briton received a 10-second penalty.
Championship leader Verstappen started from first place after winning the new sprint on Saturday, a new qualifying modality released on the British circuit.
And he managed to defend first place when the traffic light went out, against Hamilton, who had finished second in that qualifying race.
But the Englishman, in a hurry to steal the lead from his rival, pushed too hard and in the ninth turn, he touched the Dutchman's car from behind, which ended up hitting the wall sideways.
The Red Bull man was able to get out of the car on his own, but was shocked.
Accident start for Verstappen # F1xESPN The leader's unmissable duel with champion Hamilton at Silverstone.
The Red Bull driver collided after a touch with Hamilton.
There is a new leader: Leclerc.
#BritishGP pic.twitter.com/i3mFhKh4Ht
- ESPN Argentina (@ESPNArgentina) July 18, 2021
The Red Bull driver could not return to the track and the team's mechanics will have to work hard to get the car back for the next date, in two weeks, in Hungary.
With the race stopped - the crash dislodged the barriers and the competition was slowed to accommodate them -
Hamilton went to the pits to change the front wing of his Mercedes, damaged by the touch
.
And in conversation with his team through the radio, he defended his maneuver: he assured that he had won the position and it was Verstappen who generated the contact by closing too much.
The race management quickly opened an investigation and after reviewing the images, while the test was relaunched, it was known that the seven-time champion received a penalty of just 10 seconds.
Massive disappointment for @ Max33Verstappen
But great to see him waving to the crowd #BritishGP 🇬🇧 # F1 pic.twitter.com/p4TXcZnK3j
- Formula 1 (@ F1) July 18, 2021
Before the sanction was made public, C
Christian Horner, Red Bull team boss, had commented:
"Lewis has put the wheel in one of the fastest corners of the World Cup and he knows that it is not done. Fortunately, there were no great consequences for Max."
The great beneficiary of the crash was the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who after a good start inherited the leadership after the accident and in the relaunch, he defended well that first place followed by Hamilton.