F1
Lewis Larkam 7y

Max Verstappen blames Sebastian Vettel for dramatic Singapore collision

Formula 1

Max Verstappen believes Sebastian Vettel is "mainly" to blame for the collision that wiped out both drivers and Kimi Raikkonen on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Vettel, Verstappen and Raikkonen came together on the run to Turn 1, before Raikkonen made contact with his Ferrari teammate and also collected Verstappen and McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who was ultimately forced into retirement with heavy damage to his car.

Polesitter Vettel moved across from the outside in an attempt to cover-off the fast-starting Verstappen, who ended up being squeezed between the Ferrari pair as Raikkonen surged up the inside. Vettel was able to continue after Turn 1, but went on to crash after losing control of his car on the exit of Turn 3.

When asked who he felt was to blame for the clash, Verstappen replied: "I think mainly Sebastian. He started squeezing me. Maybe he didn't see Kimi on the left but that's not an excuse I think if you are fighting for the world championship, you shouldn't take those risks and really like squeeze someone that much.

"You can see what happens, Lewis is leading the race and the three of us are out. I tried to back out of it because I could see it coming but the rear tyres are wider than the front so I couldn't back out of it. Suspension damage. Into the first corner those things can happen because Kimi had only two tyres left."

The Dutchman insists he could have done no more to avoid the incident, having backed off the throttle once he saw Vettel move across.

"I don't think it was a racing incident. At the end of the day they take a total of three cars and I was in the middle without doing anything wrong. I was just trying to have a clean start but we'll see what happens. At the end of the day, not only I retired, but all three of us have a bit of pain."

The FIA said it will investigate the collision after the race.

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