Sakhir GP: Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc out in Lap 1 after the Red Bull and Ferrari collide

Sakhir GP: The Red Bull of Max Verstappen and Ferrari of Charles Leclerc collided, throwing them out of the race in the opening lap.

With Mercedes dominating proceedings, one would have expected two drivers to give the strongest competition to them – Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. But instead, they have decided to watch the race from the pit garage after colliding in the opening lap and ending the race.

The Outer Circuit at Bahrain is a narrow, challenging circuit, with a strong possibility of collisions. And this is what happened with Leclerc and Sergio Perez first, sending the former gliding towards the wall. As it was, the SF1000 also touched Verstappen, which had gone wide to avoid a direct collision in the main incident. Both the cars were against the wall a moment later.

WATCH: Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc involved in Lap 1 incident

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen: Reactions

Charles Leclerc put the blame on himself, even though Perez decided to take the inside line. Leclerc was planning to overtake the Racing Point in Turn 4 but collided instead, which also subsequently took the Red Bull of Verstappen out. Leclerc called it an unfortunate event, which could have been avoided.

Max Verstappen was straightforward, saying he was surprised Leclerc and Perez were so aggressive. He even chose to term them reckless for making three cars, victims. He got involved unnecessarily as “there was no space” from him. When informed by the reporter Leclerc has taken the blame for the incident, Verstappen had this to say:

“As he should”

Sergio Perez has survived the accident and has made up the track to P9 at the time of writing. This is the penultimate race of his current F1 stint (or his career), depending on what Red Bull decides to do with Alex Albon.