Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri crashed at Turn One in a chaotic opening lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who was promoted to fourth on the grid following Nico Hulkenberg's grid penalty, lunged down the inside at Turn One. Piastri gave the Dutchman some room but was tagged on the corner exit, sending both drivers into a spin.

Verstappen dropped down to tenth in the order as a result of the contact, while Piastri dropped to the rear of the field and was later forced to pit after a second contact with Franco Colapinto.

Verstappen described the contact as "super unlucky", while Piastri was less impressed. "Move of a world champion, that," he said to his team on the radio.

The stewards agreed with Piastri's viewpoint, slapping the four-time world champion with a 10-second time penalty. Unfortunately for the McLaren man, he also received the same punishment for his clash with Colapinto.

The stewards were very busy during the opening stages of the Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas also picked up a 10-second time penalty after tagging Sergio Perez on the opening lap.

Perez was sent into a spin and lost the engine of his Red Bull, spelling the end of his race. The Mexican may now have turned his final laps in an F1 car, with his future in Milton Keynes up in the air.

“He’s been a great team player,” Horner told Motorsport.com. “He’s contributed a lot to the team in his time so far. He remains under contract to the team. Nobody is more disappointed with his season this year than Checo.

"And obviously following the season, we’ll take the time to reflect on that.“We’ve done everything that we can to try and help him during the season. All kinds of [things] – chassis changes, set-up, working with him in many different areas. But this season shouldn’t be treated in isolation."