Max Verstappen’s participation in the Hungarian Grand Prix was put in doubt after he crashed on his way to the grid.
However swift work by his Red Bull team means Verstappen is set to take the start of today’s race.Rain fell in the hours before the start but had stopped by the time drivers began their reconnaissance laps. The track surface remained damp as Verstappen and the other drivers left the pits for the first time today.
Verstappen, who was driving from the pits to the grid on intermediate tyres, locked his left-front wheel and skidded off the track at turn 12. His Red Bull made heavy contact with a barrier.
“I hit the wall,” reported Verstappen on his radio. He was able to drive his car to the grid, but his car was badly damaged, the RB16 missing its front wing and with a bent front-left suspension corner.
The Red Bull team were scrambling to repair the damage before the start of the race. But shortly before the field were due to begin their formation laps Verstappen’s car appeared to ready to run.
“I just want to say, incredible work guys,” said Verstappen on the radio. “That’s unbelievable. Thank you very much.”
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Chaitanya
19th July 2020, 13:57
That crash could be face saver given how their car was behaving.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
19th July 2020, 18:38
I want to see some video. Smells like crashgate to me. Not the first time RB has this problem on the grid.
Nikki (@nikkit)
19th July 2020, 14:01
Surprised he managed to get it to the grid considering as he started to get moving there’s a moment where that left wheel moves in the opposite direction to the right.
But then, this isn’t the first time a driver has had an incident on the drive out to grid, Max’s incident will certainly be a reminder to all the drivers that even before the race starts, the unexpected can happen.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
19th July 2020, 14:01
If Grosjean does this or Maldonado it’s really, really bad, but this is unforgivable for a driver who says he’s on Hamilton’s level…
Markos
19th July 2020, 14:09
Good for you, you found something to bash Verstappen again.
Niki101
19th July 2020, 15:58
@jeffreyj
Did they finish 2d in those races in the 4th best car?
Today was just another testament to the genius of Verstappen!
Martin
19th July 2020, 19:49
The Red Bull was not the 4th best car.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
20th July 2020, 5:55
Crashing the car on your way to the grid is ridiculous. That’s not hating at all. It’s true.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
19th July 2020, 14:02
The car is so unsafe it can’t be controlled during a warm up lap. Might want to retreat to last year’s design. That car was very competitive. This year, not so much.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
19th July 2020, 14:03
Such a shame given the changeable conditions seems to be the only chance RBR will have for a good race result. Hopefully the team can fix it…
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
19th July 2020, 14:03
That car is so unpredictable. It’s very funny, though.
But hey Red Bull are just focussed on making Albon look bad.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
19th July 2020, 14:05
Difficult car or not, crashing on your way to the grid is an unforgivable and increddibly stupid unforced error by Verstappen.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
19th July 2020, 14:11
No disagreements here
Dave
19th July 2020, 14:04
Flashbacks of Silverstone 2019 and Japan 2019 was why this happened.
Patrick (@paeschli)
19th July 2020, 15:58
Nah, they still finished second
Roel van der Linden
19th July 2020, 18:16
Verstappen showed his brilliance in the race
Nuff said