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Pouring rain at the start, a simple mistake by the seemingly infallible world champion and two drivers who clearly exchange their opinions after a crash: the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix had everything a Formula 1 race can offer.
It was a turbulent race in Imola, at the end of which Max Verstappen jumped onto the podium as the winner.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton came in second after a great race to catch up in front of Lando Norris in a McLaren.
"I am just happy. We did a great job in these difficult conditions, ”said Verstappen. The Dutchman got off to a perfect start in the rain at Imola. The Dutchman pulled past his team-mate Sergio Perez in his Red Bull and fought a gripping duel with Hamilton in the first three corners, from which he emerged victorious. Verstappen defended his position until halfway through the race. When the rain stopped and the track dried out, they both changed their tires. Hamilton came back on track in second and made a fatal mistake when attempting to lap the car.
He lost control of his Mercedes and slipped off the track.
A simple driving mistake the likes of which the Briton has not made for years.
"Sorry guys.
I was just too impetuous, ”Hamilton radioed into the pits.
Hamilton put the car in reverse and maneuvered his Mercedes out of the gravel back onto the track.
He escaped into the box with his car.
The race would have been over for the seven-time world champion if his team-mate Valtteri Bottas hadn't been involved in a fatal accident.
Another disaster for Vettel
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Shortly after taking off from Hamilton, Bottas was shot off the track by Geroge Russel. During an overtaking maneuver, Russel got into the grass next to the track and rushed into Botttas' Mercedes at 300 km / h. Both drivers lost control and then lost their nerve. Russel jumped out of his car and headed towards Bottas. The Finn was obviously not in the mood for a clarifying conversation and clearly showed with the raised middle finger what he thought of the action. Then Russel hit the Mercdes pilot's helmet. The route was closed for minutes to clean up after the crash.
Verstappen emerged victorious from the restart and continuously expanded his lead, while Hamilton worked his way up to second place with a courageous chase and a superior car.
“It wasn't my best day.
It was after a long time that I made a mistake, ”said Hamilton.
Mick Schumacher is still a long way from that.
The son of the seven-time world champion Michael learned the hard way in his second Formula 1 race.
The 22-year-old warmed up the tires of his Haas in an early safety car phase and lost control while zigzagging.
He hit a wall and had to go into the box.
He was last in the field, a long way behind.
Schumacher finished the race flawlessly and ended up in penultimate place ahead of his team-mate Nikita Mazepin.
It was even worse for Sebastian Vettel. The Aston Martin driver had to start out of the pits because he had problems with the brakes on the warm-up lap, which his team could not fix in time. On the penultimate lap, Vettel had to end the race early because of a transmission problem