- Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended in dramatic fashion, with Sergio Perez claiming victory.
Max Verstappen lost victory to a puncture, whileLewis Hamilton accidentally turned off his brakes.- Haas duo Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin also nearly crashed while travelling at over 200 mph.
Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended in dramatic fashion as Max Verstappen lost a guaranteed victory after a late puncture, and Lewis Hamilton made an uncharacteristic error to throw away a chance to reclaim the Formula One championship lead.
Red Bull's Verstappen crashed out with five laps to go as his car suffered a sudden left-rear puncture, prompting the race to be stopped.
Hamilton was second on the grid at the restart, but accidentally flicked a switch in his cockpit, adjusting the balance of his brakes, causing his front wheels to lock up, and forcing him to run into an escape road.
The mistake set up a thrilling last two-lap sprint between Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel, and Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly.
Perez held off his opponents to claim his first victory of the season and the second of his career, while Hamilton finished in 15th, claiming no points, allowing Verstappen to retain the drivers' championship lead by four points.
Hamilton said over the team radio that he was "so sorry" for his mistake, however after the race, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff defended the 36-year-old, putting the problem down to the team.
"I just need to let him know that this wasn't because of a mistake by him," said Wolff. "He doesn't make any mistakes. That is what you need to remember. I wouldn't wish for anyone else to be in the car."
He added: "We weren't good enough and if we want to win this championship we need to bring our A-game.
"We need to give the drivers a car that is competitive and I guess we were only in a position to win the race because Max shunted out. It's going to hurt for a few days, but we'll bring our top game to the next race."
After winning three of the opening four races of the 2021 season, Hamilton has now missed out on the podium in two consecutive races. After four races, Hamilton was on 95 points and leading the championship. After six races, he has added just six points.
Mazepin almost causes a 200 mile-per-hour smash
Elsewhere on an action-packed day in Baku, Haas driver Mick Schumacher was furious with his teammate Nikita Mazepin for a piece of driving which almost resulted in the pair colliding near the end of the race, with Schumacher suggesting that the Russian wanted to "kill" them both.
Schumacher, son of F1 legend Michael, spent the majority of the race ahead of Mazepin, only to see the Russian steal a place from him at the standing start with two laps to go.
Schumacher was able to get within overtaking distance on the final lap, but as he tried to do so, Mazepin moved the same direction at late notice in an attempt to block him.
Both drivers were travelling at speeds well in excess of 200 miles-per-hour at the time.
-ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) June 6, 2021
"What the f--- was that, honestly?!" Schumacher fumed over the team radio after Mazepin's late swerve. "Seriously, does he want to kill us?"
Mazepin revealed after the race that had an issue with his car as he approached the finish line and that he was frustrated to lose his place to Schumacher.
"The main thing is I'm a little bit upset about losing my position to the teammate on the main straight," he said.
"I ran out of battery there, so I was a bit of a sitting passenger, but it is what it is."
Haas team boss Guenther Steiner later said the drivers had resolved the incident.
"There was a situation on the straight, that was all resolved, and we've cleared the air," Steiner said. "There was some misunderstanding, but we're fine and all moving on from it."
You can watch highlights of the race on the official Formula One YouTube page.