The 2021 Italian Grand Prix was full of surprises, as title contenders Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were part of another crash, resulting in both of them being ruled out of the race.
After Hamilton had a pit stop of 4 seconds, he drove into a heated competition with Verstappen around the turns. And as Verstappen’s car hit the sausage kerb, it tumbled and after touching the wheel of Hamilton’s car, was launched onto the Mercedes.
The English world champion was saved due to the halo safety system, and both the drivers ended up into the rubble. “I didn’t expect him to just keep on squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, because he didn’t even need to,” said Verstappen.
“He just kept on pushing me wider and wider and at one point there was nowhere to go, he just pushed me onto the sausage kerb. That’s why, at the end of the day, we touched.
“You need two people to work together to make a corner and we are fighting for position. Unfortunately we touched. If one guy is not willing to work, what can you do?”
The stewards have deemed the crash mostly the fault of Verstappen, and as a result, he will start three places below his qualification in the Russian GP. He has also been handed two penalty points on his license.
Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished first, and second respectively, resulting in a one-two finish for McLaren, and their first victory since 2012.
