Max Verstappen says a problem with his clutch at the start of the grand prix was the main contributor to why he was collected in the accident at turn 1 that led to his fifth retirement in seven races.
Verstappen, who started from sixth on the grid, lost several positions at the start when his car kicked into anti-stall and was compromised on the run to the first corner.
A chain reaction began when Daniil Kvyat locked up his tyres and hit the rear of Fernando Alonso, thus spinning into Verstappen, who was minding his own business around the outside of the corner.
The Dutch driver admitted he could already tell on the formation lap the clutch didn’t feel great, and added his disappointment at another retirement this season.
“I already felt in the formation lap that it was not fantastic,” Verstappen said. “And in the actual start I got a failure, so I got anti-stall, and then on the run up to Turn 1 it didn’t feel great.
“I tried to stay out of trouble, to go wide, and I got hit on the rear tyre. Because of that, the clutch over-engaged, and it basically broke the bearing in the clutch. So I had no drive anymore.
“Of course I’m very disappointed for the fans, they were the best crowd I’ve seen so far and I couldn’t even do a start or one corner for them, never mind 71 laps.”
