MELBOURNE, Australia – Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has begun a new era in the Formula 1 World Championship after crashing out of the first qualifying session of the year.
Verstappen spun while braking at Turn 1 midway through the Q1 session, spun out and bounced across the gravel and into the wall.
The Red Bull driver was uninjured, but the incident means he will start from the back of the grid at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.
After being asked on the radio if he was OK, Verstappen said: “The car has just locked the rear axles. It’s great.”
Verstappen has already been an outspoken critic of the new Formula One cars, which have created a new and complex driving style due to the emphasis on battery management with the sport’s new hybrid engines.
“I definitely don’t enjoy these cars at all,” he said after qualifying.
“I don’t know. I mean you can make up your mind, but I think if you look at the plane, you’ll see enough, right?”
