Verstappen and Raikkonen come off worse from three-way tangle
Sunday 14 May 2017 19:20, UK
Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen believe they would not have crashed at the start of the Spanish GP had Valtteri Bottas not tagged the Ferrari at Barcelona's first corner.
Verstappen and Raikkonen, who finished first and second respectively in last year's Spain race, dropped out on the first lap on Sunday when they came off worse from a three-car tangle over third place at Turn One.
Raikkonen was sent on a collision course with Verstappen's Red Bull on the outside after contact with the Mercedes, with both cars suffering race-stopping suspension damage.
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"It's just unfortunate," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. "I tried around the outside and I think if Valtteri didn't touch Kimi we would have given each other space.
"Kimi couldn't control the car and slammed into me."
Stewards investigated the incident but ruled that no driver was wholly to blame.
But Raikkonen was also of the view that Bottas had triggered the chain reaction.
"There was nothing me or Max could have done, when you get hit from behind in that way there's no way to avoid the collision," he said. "I'm pretty sure Valtteri had enough space."
Bottas, who later retired with a mechanical failure on his car, also described the incident as unfortunate.
"I was inside for Turn One, Kimi came from outside and tried to overtake from there," said the Mercedes driver.
"There was nowhere to go. It was unlucky. It was all a little too close and tight. There was no more space."
Speaking to Sky F1, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff said: "His race was pretty much gone after contact in Turn One."
Don't miss the final word on the Spanish GP in the F1 Report on Wednesday at 8.30pm on Sky F1. Leading F1 journalist Peter Windsor joins Natalie Pinkham and Marc Priestley to look back at all the Barcelona action
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