After days of speculation he might leave Red Bull for Mercedes, Max Verstappen got a closer look at a Mercedes car than he wanted. The defending Formula 1 champion’s Austrian Grand Prix lasted less than half a lap as he was knocked out of the race by Mercedes driver and potential future teammate Kimi Antonelli.

Verstappen qualified P7 in Austria - marking one of the worst qualifying sessions for the Dutch driver in a while.

Max Verstappen branded Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli a “f------ idiot” after their first-lap collision ended his race and capped a nightmare home grand prix for Red Bull, with Christian Horner admitting the team’s championship hopes were all but over.