Max Verstappen crashes out of Austrian GP on first lap as he blasts 'f***ing idiots'

Max Verstappen was a first-lap casualty at the Austrian Grand Prix after a collision with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli. It came amid a chaotic start to racing at the Red Bull Ring, with Carlos Sainz having been ruled out before racing even got underway.

The Verstappen and Antonelli incident came heading into turn three, when the Silver Arrows ace hit the brakes too late, locked up and smashed into the side of Verstappen. It caused the formidable Dutch driver to spin off the track and condemned him to his first retirement of the season.

Understandably frustrated, Verstappen reacted on the team radio by saying: "I'm out, I got hit like crazy. ******* idiots." Antonelli, still in his first-ever Formula One season, was quick to apologise on his team radio, saying: "I'm sorry about that, I locked the rear."

Commenting on the incident, Sky Sport pundit Karun Chandhok said: "Could you put it down as a rookie error [from Antonelli]? I'm not sure Max Verstappen will take that as any consolation," before suggesting the 18-year-old coiuld be at risk of a grid penalty at Silverstone next week.

It's a dagger in the heart of Verstappen's title hopes, with the Red Bull star having already trailed the McLaren duo heading into the Austrian Grand Prix. What's more, it also meant for the first time in 31 races, the four-in-a-row world champion finished outside of the points position.

Verstappen, who has been linked with a move to Mercedes, had started in seventh after an underwhelming qualifying session that saw him hindered by a late yellow flag. It proved costly in the end, as it meant Verstappen was caught up in the middle of the melee on turn three.

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It comes after Carlos Sainz was forced to abandon the race during the formation lap after his Williams car caught fire, forcing the start of the race to be suspended. Sainz had managed one trip around the racetrack before pulling into the pit lane, where his brakes began to smoke up.

Flames were spotted moments later, and the mechanics reacted quickly by rushing to the car with fire extinguishers in hand, keen to avoid a bigger blaze from forming. Not that it was a shock to Sainz or the Williams garage, but race engineer Gaetan Jego informed the Spanish driver that his race was finished before it even began.