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WATCH: Lewis Hamilton Goes Off Into the Gravel Chasing Max Verstappen at Imola

Published 04/18/2021, 10:16 AM EDT

F1 just doesn’t disappoint, does it? The second race of the 2021 season has been nothing short of insane in terms of drama. But the biggest talking point from a little over halfway through the race is Lewis Hamilton and his huge off-track excursion. The Mercedes man, who is often renowned for his wet track driving, has made a rare mistake and that puts a race win at Imola in jeopardy.

The #44 F1 driver, who started on pole position, soon found himself behind Max Verstappen. The Dutchman got off to an incredible start, zooming past Hamilton within the first few turns after some wheel-to-wheel action. The conditions were tough, but it was Max who won the early battle.

However, Lewis wasn’t done just yet. As the track began drying out, Hamilton started to cut down the gap. That’s exactly when the shocking incident happened.

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Verstappen got past some backmarker traffic and took off. But Lewis got stuck behind a line of cars, and as he tried to clear the Williams of George Russell, he slipped off track. It definitely appeared to be a mistake on Hamilton’s part. He didn’t seem to have grip, stepped on the gas a bit early, and lost the back of the Mercedes a bit.

Following that, Lewis was in the gravel for a good amount of time. However, he managed to keep the engine on and get the Silver Arrow on track.

Lewis Hamilton was not the only Mercedes driver who got into trouble at Imola

Only moments after Hamilton shocked the world, his teammate Valtteri Bottas managed to grab the headlines. The Finn was involved in a massive crash with George Russell that brought out the red flags at Imola.

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Fans barely got a moment to let Hamilton’s incident sink in when this happened. Safe to say, this is not the kind of weekend Mercedes would’ve wanted.

A race that started with the promise of winning has quickly turned into a race of damage limitation. Hamilton is still in the race and has a chance to get a top 10 spot. But Bottas’ race is most certainly over with his car being completely damaged.

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With half the race yet to go, a lot more drama is expected. Boy, this has been one thrilling ride so far.

WATCH: George Russell Rages at Bottas After Huge Crash at Imola

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Written by:

Ronan Carvalho is senior F1 author for Essentiallysports. Ronan is currently pursuing his Journalism degree from St. Xavier's College.

WATCH: Lewis Hamilton Goes Off Into the Gravel Chasing Max Verstappen at Imola

Lewis Hamilton was not the only Mercedes driver who got into trouble at Imola

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