Disastrous start for Red Bull, Verstappen and Perez involved in incidents
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F1 News
- Nicole Mulder
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix got off to a dramatic start for Red Bull Racing. Max Verstappen made contact with Oscar Piastri at the start, causing both drivers to fall way back. Moments later, Sergio Perez also hit the track, resulting in a retirement.
Disastrous start for Red Bull in Abu Dhabi
Verstappen was excellent away at the start and immediately outsmarted Carlos Sainz, who started third. He was also better away than Piastri, and with their being space, he looked for a dive down the inside at the first corner. His overtaking attempt did not end well, however, as the Dutchman went slightly wide and hit his rival's McLaren in the process, resulting in a ten-second penalty.
Verstappen called the incident "bad luck", Piastri in turn calmly but critically commented on the Red Bull driver. "Really a move by a world champion," he remarked in a sarcastic tone over his team radio.
The race also quickly ended in a nightmare for teammate Perez, who may have driven his last Formula 1 race for Red Bull. The Mexican, who started from tenth place, went off track and ended up backwards. Shortly afterwards it turned out that he could not continue his way and so his last F1 race of the year ended in a DNF.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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