Lewis Hamilton crashed during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix – causing the army of Max Verstappen fans in the stands to cheer with delight.
The Mercedes man was in the hunt for a first pole position of the season in the wake of his strong result at Silverstone last week. His Mercedes was looking strong during qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, and his team felt the hot lap he was on might have secured a place on the front row.
But that scenario never materialised, as he lost control of his Mercedes and crashed into a tyre barrier. The Brit was quick to apologise over team radio after such an uncharacteristic mistake.
"Damn, I am so sorry guys. I’m so sorry for damaging the car," said Hamilton moments after hitting the tyre wall at high speed. Crashes from the seven-time world champion are rare, leaving the Sky Sports commentary team surprised to see it happen on this occasion.
Meanwhile, the army of orange-clad fans in the stands took great delight in watching one of the threats to Verstappen crash out of the session. There was a huge cheers when the Mercedes crashed, as the fans at the Red Bull Ring made it clear where their loyalties lied.
The red-flagged session had only been restarted for a few seconds when another disaster struck for Mercedes. George Russell was now their only driver left, but skidded and hit the barrier himself to end the Silver Arrows' chances of pole.
Mercedes confirmed on social media that neither driver had suffered any serious damage. "Lewis is OK and out of the car," the team wrote, before adding: "George is OK, out of the car and making his way back to the garage."
In the absence of the two Mercedes, it was left to Ferrari pair Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to try to spoil the Red Bull party. They thought they had done it as both drivers went faster than the Dutchman with their final hot laps.
But Verstappen improved again to make sure a Red Bull would be on pole at the team's home track. And that moment elicited another huge roar from the fans as they saluted their hero following another strong qualifying performance.
