NewsNow: Max Verstappen fumes at ‘f***ing idiot’ Kimi Antonelli after crashing out of Austrian GP.
Kimi Antonelli attempted a wild lunge on the opening lap of the Austrian Grand Prix ended with him smashing into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, ending both their races.
Max Verstappen was taken out on the first lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. He fumed over the radio after being slammed into by rookie Kimi Antonelli at turn three, the Mercedes rookie having lost control of his car and locked up one of his front wheels as he attempted a lunge up the inside.
It was a move that was highly likely to end in disaster and it did, for both Antonelli and Verstappen. Most others managed to avoid the Mercedes but the Dutchman was the unlucky one whose Red Bull was slammed into, spinning it around.
And the force of the impact was enough to end Verstappen’s race. He lost the engine as a result of the crash and quickly reported over the radio that his day’s work was done, clearly unhappy with what had happened.
“I’m out. I got hit like crazy. F***ing idiots,” the four-time Formula 1 champion fumed. But he seemed to have calmed down by the time he climbed out of his car, displaying no aggressive body language to Antonelli who immediately came over to him to apologise for his mistake.
They were the second and third drivers to retire from the Spielberg race, after the unfortunate Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard’s rear brakes seemed to be locked on which stopped him from getting going when the formation lap began.
He received a push from some marshals and that meant he was able to start moving. But by the time he returned to the pit lane, after the initial aborted start, those brakes at the back of the Williams caught fire and did enough damage to mean that he would not be able to begin the race when it did eventually get going.
Things only got worse for Williams when Alex Albon was forced to retire on lap 17. He’d been running smoothly until his first pit stop, but after rejoining the track, the team quickly spotted an issue in the data and told him over the radio to bring the car back to the garage.
Earlier, the race had already seen its first big moment when Verstappen and Antonelli collided on the opening lap, bringing out the safety car. Once racing resumed, the action didn’t let up. The two McLaren drivers at the front — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri — locked into a fierce fight. Norris had started from pole, with Piastri moving up to second after overtaking Leclerc. When Norris briefly ran wide at the final corner, Piastri took the lead, but Norris immediately responded. The two teammates went head-to-head for several laps, with McLaren allowing them to race freely — as long as it stayed clean.
