Verstappen crashes out of Belgium Grand Prix in sombre day at Spa after Hubert tragedy

MAX VERSTAPPEN barely made it past the first turn of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix before crashing out. At the first turn of the first lap at Spa-Francorchamps, the Dutchman tried to squeeze his Red Bull down the inside of the hairpin La Source. However Kimi Raikkonen wouldn’t have seen him among the traffic and collided […]

MAX VERSTAPPEN barely made it past the first turn of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix before crashing out.

At the first turn of the first lap at Spa-Francorchamps, the Dutchman tried to squeeze his Red Bull down the inside of the hairpin La Source.

However Kimi Raikkonen wouldn’t have seen him among the traffic and collided with Verstappen while turning in.

The Finn’s Alfa Romeo was cannoned into the air but managed to continue after a pit stop.

Yet Verstappen wasn’t so lucky, his steering rack evidently broken as he asked his team over radio what was wrong.

He soon found out as his attempt to continue up Eau Rouge ended in him losing control and hitting the barriers.

Questions may be raised over why the 21-year-old wasn’t advised to slow down with his steering wheel having little impact on his direction as cars passed.

Indeed, he almost collected Raikkonen again as he headed off the track.

It meant bitter disappointment for the tens of thousands of Dutch fans who had made their way to Belgium for what is effectively the Red Bull star’s home race.

Verstappen walked away from the incident with it thankfully bearing little resemblance to the horror crash that killed Anthoine Hubert a few hundred yards further up the track on Saturday.

The F2 youngster hit the barrier on the straight that follows Eau Rouge and was rebounded towards oncoming traffic, leading to a deadly 150mph collision with Juan Manuel Correa’s car.

While the world of motor racing mourned the Frenchman before the F1 GP, Correa, 20, remained in intensive care after breaking both his legs.

Earlier on Sunday, another worrying crash occurred in the Formula 3 race at Spa.

Simo Laaksonen was left underneath a portion of the barrier after skidding off the track – but was able to walk away from the scene.