Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix on the same turn at Monza on Sunday after colliding in an unusual incident.
Verstappen flew up on Hamilton’s left-hand side before attempting to squeeze his rival out on the next bend, despite the fact that Hamilton had just left the pit lane and re-entered the track.
Verstappen’s car then appeared unsteady as it bobbled over the curb on the bend, before his Red Bull collided with Hamilton’s Mercedes.
The collision threw Verstappen’s car into the air as both cars skidded off the track, with the Red Bull eventually resting on the nose of Hamilton’s Mercedes, forcing both drivers out.
Hamilton failed to finish for the first time in 63 starts, and he trudged off disappointed after Verstappen had already begun his dejected walk back to the pits.
Verstappen, who is only three points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers’ standings, complained to his teammates: “He didn’t leave me any space.”
Mercedes’ pit stop had been slow by their own standards, clocking 4.2 seconds, giving Verstappen the opportunity to overtake Hamilton on lap 26.
Verstappen was clearly confident, having just set the fastest lap of the race, but that came after his nightmare 11-second pit stop, which clearly pushed him to try and gain ground.
The pair had already come close to colliding earlier in the race, shortly after the start, with both drivers pulling out as Verstappen maintained his lead.
This time, however, the Dutchman had no such plans, and while Hamilton backed off slightly, he was unable to avoid making contact.
Hamilton was fortunate to escape the incident unscathed, thanks to the halo on his car, which helped him avoid serious injury as Verstappen’s vehicle came dangerously close to hitting his head.
Another hugely dramatic moment in the Verstappen/Hamilton title battle 💥😮#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/P4J4bN6wX2
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 12, 2021
The safety car was quickly deployed and eventually exited the track as the race resumed on lap 30.
It created a significant opportunity for the rest of the field, with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo leading the race after taking the lead from Verstappen early on.
As a result of the departures of the two championship leaders, his teammate Lando Norris moved up to second, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez following in third.
The rest of the race was a procession as McLaren landed a one-two with Ricciardo taking first ahead of Norris, but a five-second penalty to Perez dropped him to fifth behind Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas – who claimed the final podium spot – and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Another hugely dramatic moment in the Verstappen/Hamilton title battle 💥😮#ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/P4J4bN6wX2
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 12, 2021