Kevin Magnussen suffered a heartbreaking end to a weekend to remember as he was taken out by Daniel Ricciardo on the first lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
After the first few corners of the race at Interlagos, it seemed as though everyone had got away safely. But sadly that would not be the case as Ricciardo drove into the back of the Haas, spinning it around in the tight and twisty mid-section of the Sao Paulo track.
Had that been the end of it, both drivers might have been able to carry on. But as Magnussen's car span around, it then slammed into the side of Ricciardo's McLaren – both cars suffering heavy damage which meant their races were over.
The safety car was deployed immediately while marshals moved to retrieve the stricken cars. Magnussen, who took pole position this weekend for the first time in his F1 career, was gutted as he reported the crash to Haas over team radio.
It meant a sour end to his weekend which promised so much. And the same was true for Ricciardo – the Aussie said on the grid he wanted "points and fun" – but this incident, in what may be his penultimate race in F1, ensured that he would get neither.
As it happened, it would not be the only piece of drama in the opening stages of the race. Moments after the safety car went back into the pits, there was contact between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in a throwback to last year's bitter title fight.
Neither of them crashed out, but the Red Bull driver picked up significant damage to his front wing and had to head to the pits for it to be changed. To make matters worse for the Dutchman, he was slapped with a five-second time penalty for his part in the incident.
The Mercedes appeared to get away without so much of an issue, though Hamilton suspected he had floor damage – even if his team was telling him that pace remained good. And there was more to come. Just seconds after that contact, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc went into a corner side-by-side.
But on the McLaren came out of it, as contact was made and the Ferrari span around and went into the Tecpro barrier. Remarkably, he was able to get his car back onto the track to continue. Norris was also able to carry on after appearing to escape damage, which was good news for the birthday boy.
