At the start of the race in Barcelona, Vettel got a lightning quick start and was able to jump Hamilton. But behind them, the action was unfolding. Bottas in the Mercedes had a reasonably good start but behind him, Raikkonen and Verstappen braked later and shot past him. Going into Turn One, the Finn clipped the rear wheel of his fellow countryman who in turn bumped into an unsuspecting Verstappen.
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“It all started when I got hit on my right-rear corner,” said Raikkonen. “It jumped a little bit and then obviously you cannot control a lot after that. Then we came together with Max, but it all started from the first touch. What can you do? I made a good start, got blocked by Bottas on the straight once, I had to lift already, and then we touched and my race ended there.”
Verstappen also shed light from his perspective “You can clearly see what happened – Valtteri hitting Kimi and then of course it was difficult for Kimi to control the car, so he then slammed into me. Normally three cars [into Turn 1] is doable, it’s always very tight. It was unfortunate. When you’re on the outside you know it’s a bit tricky, I was just giving a bit of space, but then I got a Ferrari slamming into me. It’s a part of racing.”
Bottas admitted that he had been the cause of the accident but claimed that it was not intentional. “It was not on purpose, it’s shame we collided, it was just a small touch really.” Although the incident was investigated by the stewards, no further action was warranted.
