Max Verstappen: “I can’t believe I was kicked out for the second week in a row”

Max Verstappen admitted it was disappointing to be involved in a first lap crash for the second straight race Lando Norris in the first corner Hungary.

Norris was already out of control Valtteri Bottas cornering on a wet track in Hungary, but the damage to Verstappen’s car was considerable, and the Red Bull Racing Driver was lucky to finish the race.

Verstappen fought cars that he normally zoomed past with a passport Mick Schumacher difficult to say, especially since the Uralkali Haas F1 Team were regularly the slowest team on the grid in 2021.

Ultimately, Verstappen took the road in tenth and took a single point, though Sebastian VettelThe disqualification ahead of him brought him to ninth place and two points. However, he lost the top position in the drivers’ championship Lewis Hamilton.

“In the race everything was out of our hands and I can’t believe that I was kicked out for the second week in a row,” said Verstappen. “The mechanics did what they could to get me back into the race, but I had a lot of damage to the car after the incident and it was super difficult to drive with, there was a lot of oversteer and understeer from the loss of downforce.

“Of course it’s really disappointing to get just one point, but on the other hand, I was incredibly lucky to continue after the crash, so it was a surprise to get a point at all that is still important.”

Verstappen says Red Bull will fight again after the summer break to end the supremacy of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Teamwho have won the last seven drivers ‘and constructors’ championships.

He also congratulated his longtime rival Esteban Ocon for his first Formula 1 victory in Hungary, with the Alpine F1 team Racer takes advantage of Hamilton’s mistake in restarting to take the lead and ultimately victory.

“We have the summer break now, but we keep pushing, we will never give up and focus on ourselves,” he said. “We had two very unfortunate races, but nothing is lost, it’s still a very long season.

“Congratulations also to Esteban, you can see that he is super happy and I’m sure that many more race wins will follow.”

“It is unbelievable to be hit like that at Turn 1” – Sergio Pérez

Teammate Sergio Perez failed to make it through the first lap after being also involved in the Bottas-initiated incident, with the damage to his RB16B being too great for him to continue.

Pérez had been looking for a strong result in Hungary to go into the summer break with confidence, but in the end he had to regret what could have been without the crash, especially since he was third before the corner.

The Mexican believed he had the potential to make profits when the track was the wettest, so he hadn’t hoped to be taken out of the race.

“I don’t know what to say, but it is unbelievable to be hit like that at Turn 1 and a big blow for us as a team,” said Pérez. “I got off to a good start and was third. It’s a shame because I think we had a good chance under these conditions, but I couldn’t do anything.

“I watched the reps because it was hard to understand exactly what was happening behind me in the car and I just knew I had a big hit. Bottas made a big mistake and braked too late at Turn 1, which knocked out a lot of cars, including me, and badly damaged Max’s car.

“He came to me and apologized because he knew it was his mistake and although it wasn’t on purpose and sometimes the race goes like that, it doesn’t make any difference to us at the moment for the result as the big damage is over . “Our race and the chance for points.”

Sergio Pérez was one of four drivers who failed on the first lap in Hungary – Image: Florion Goga – Pool / Getty Images