Four years ago at the Hungaroring, Formula 1 witnessed what is now regarded as one of the most surreal sights in its history, as only Lewis Hamilton took the start of the race from the grid.
F1 is full of moments that stretch the bounds of belief – from three drivers setting exactly same pole position time at Jerez in 1997 to the farcical six-car race at Indianapolis in 2005.
But on a damp afternoon in Hungary in 2021, the championship produced one of its most visually surreal sights: a single car sitting on the starting grid, as the rest of the field drove into the pitlane.
It was an unforgettable image that instantly entered F1 folklore, more fitting of a parody sketch than a world championship race.
Start carnage
A rain shower moments before lights out created just enough uncertainty to split opinion, but as the grid lined up on intermediate tyres, it became clear that the track was drying very fast.
When the race started, however, chaos ensued at Turn 1 as Mercedes‘ Valtteri Bottas, having already made a terrible start, misjudged his braking and slammed into the back of Lando Norris’s McLaren.
The incident took out multiple frontrunners, including Max Verstappen, hit by Norris as a result of being pushed by Bottas, who also took out Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull as he careered off the track on three wheels.
Chaos at the start as Bottas takes out several drivers
Behind them, there was more mayhem as Lance Stroll also overshot his braking point and crashed into Charles Leclerc, eliminating the Ferrari straight away.
The initial safety car soon turned into a red flag as marshals cleared the enormous amounts of carbon-fibre debris on track.
The bizarre restart
As the field prepared for the standing restart following the red flag, track conditions had changed: the circuit was drying rapidly, and so suddenly the intermediates were no longer the best option.
Or at least that’s what most of the field felt.
“At this rate, everyone is going to box,” Williams driver George Russell predicted on the radio.
Hamilton later admitted that not pitting was a mistake
And so, as the drivers completed the formation lap, it became apparent that the track was too dry for intermediates and one by one, everybody peeled into the pits to switch to slicks.
Every driver except Hamilton, that is.
Starting from pole, Mercedes chose to leave Hamilton out on the grid on intermediates, hoping to capitalise on his track position, leading to one of the most bizarre images in recent times as the seven-time champion waited alone for the lights to go out.