WATCH: Huge drama on Lap 1 in Hungary as five cars are knocked out at first corner and race is red flagged

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The Hungarian Grand Prix was red flagged after two separate incidents at Turn 1 on the opening lap saw FIVE cars eliminated from the race, and several more damaged.

As rain fell at the start of the race at the Hungaroring, all 20 drivers began on the intermediate tyres, though Antonio Giovinazzi dived in to the pits at the end of the formation lap to gamble on dry tyres.

When the lights went out, pole man Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen from third got good getaways, but Valtteri Bottas was sluggish away from second and was suprised when Lando Norris - who started sixth - overtook him. Bottas then locked up and slid into the rear of Norris' McLaren as the cars began to funnel through Turn 1. Norris was tipped into Verstappen's car, while Bottas himself slammed into the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Bottas and Perez were out on the spot, while Verstappen kept going but tumbled down the order and was carrying significant damage, as was Norris.

Behind this incident, Lance Stroll tried to dive down the inside at Turn 1, but hit the side of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, which was in turn nudged into Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren.

Leclerc and Stroll were out, as Ricciardo spun round but continued on. A Safety Car was called, but Race Director Michael Masi then red flagged the race given there was so much debris on the track.

So Bottas, Perez, Stroll and Leclerc were all out on Lap 1, while McLaren then confirmed that Norris would not be taking the restart of the race as his MCL35M had sustained too much damage.

Meanwhile championship leader Max Verstappen was dropped down to 13th place, but the red flag stoppage did allow Red Bull to set to work trying to repair his damaged car before the restart.

When the race does restart, the top six will be: Hamilton, Esteban ocon, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda and Nicholas Latifi.

Tap here to follow all the latest from the race in our live blog.

2021 Hungarian Grand Prix: Stroll crashes into Leclerc at race start

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