Liam Lawson has insisted the opening lap of the Dutch Grand Prix was "just impossible" in the mixed conditions, as he had the perfect view of Max Verstappen's frightening crash.
Heavy rainfall ahead of the Grand Prix made for an interesting opening lap at Zandvoort, as the first half of the circuit remained dry while the final sector was wet.
All drivers opted for slick tyres at the start and gingerly made their way through the final corners; however, Verstappen tried to push too early and crashed heavily at the last corner.
Lawson was directly behind his Red Bull team-mate and saw the heavy impact, which the New Zealander did well to avoid.
It triggered an immediate red flag as debris from Verstappen's car was scattered across the circuit, in what was a saddening way for the local hero's probable final home race to end.
As for Lawson, he ended up finishing a lonely seventh and conceded that he had zero confidence on the opening lap in the tricky conditions.
Asked how difficult the opening lap was, Lawson told select media, including RacingNews365: "Just impossible.
"I mean, the whole first half of the track was dry, and then the last two corners were completely soaked.
"So yeah, really easy, obviously, to do that [crash] when you have this much power and are on a slick tyre.
"But yeah, for us, I really lifted out of it, sort of, because honestly, I had no confidence in knowing how much grip we were going to have there, and I think Max was probably trying to get close and make an overtake, but just lost it."
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