"I honestly didn't see Mazepin at all"

The track was very slippery due to the rain, so the drivers had to watch out for accidents from the start. Latifi didn't manage to do so for long, as he slid off the track in the early stages. The Canadian rejoined the track, but then failed to notice Mazepin next to him. He then steered into Mazepin and went off the track himself.

"I was at the bottom of the Acque Minerali, but managed to get back on the track," he explained to Motorsport.com.

"I then tried to stay on the left side of the track as much as possible, but it was very slippery there. I saw Vettel pass me and thought I was the last car. I honestly didn't see Nikita at all. There was so much spray. I wasn't aware that he was sitting there, I only discovered that much later when I looked back at the footage of the incident."

Poor visibility for Latifi

Latifi blames the weather for that. "The visibility was extremely bad. I don't think I've ever experienced such poor conditions at the start of a race. I think that was partly due to the age of the circuit. Old asphalt doesn't drain rainwater as well. But anyway, so it was completely impossible to see anything and I got off the track because my rear tyres locked up slightly." Mazepin did reach the finish, but finished in last place.