F1 news - Chaos in Hungary sees six drivers DNF and Hamilton start on the grid all by himself after Bottas crash
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ByEurosport
Updated 01/08/2021 at 14:21 GMT
Valtteri Bottas collided with Lando Norris, who in turn tagged championship leader Max Verstappen, at Turn 1 and forced the retirement of five drivers before Mercedes made a tactical blunder. Lewis Hamilton was the only driver not to pit after the restart and rejoined the race at the back of the pack a lap later.
Hamilton en el GP de Hungría
Image credit: Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton was sent tumbling into last place after a farcical opening few laps at the Hungarian Grand Prix that saw five drivers retire from the race.
Valtteri Bottas caused chaos in the first lap by braking too late into Turn 1, running into the back of Lando Norris who in turn collided with championship leader Max Verstappen.
Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll were also caught up in the mayhem as the session was stopped to clean up the debris strewn across the Hungaroring.
Mercedes subsequently made a tactical blunder by not recognising the need to pit Hamilton after the formation lap, with the defending champion the only driver on the grid for the restart.
Hamilton was shifted on to wet tyres one lap later and rejoined the race at the back of the pack with Esteban Ocon a surprise leader and Sebastian Vettel in second and Nicholas Latifi in third.
With track position so important at the Hungaroring, Hamilton and Verstappen struggled to make their way through the field, although Mercedes made good use of an undercut to pass the only Red Bull left in the race.
Victory at the British Grand Prix for Hamilton narrowed the gap at the top of the drivers’ championship to just eight points with Verstappen targeting his first F1 title.
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