Force India's Esteban Ocon has blamed Kimi Raikkonen for the clash at Turn 3 that ended the Frenchman's Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the first lap.
Having narrowly avoided contact with his team-mate Sergio Perez in the Turn 2 after the Mexican was hit from behind by the Williams of Sergey Sirotkin, Ocon beat Raikkonen out of the corner and got into the slipstream of Daniel Ricciardo.
As they approached the entry into Turn 3, the Finn pulled his Ferrari out from behind Ocon and went for the overtake where the pair collided.
"It’s disappointing not to finish the race on a day in which we had such good pace, said the Frenchman. "I had a flying start and I managed to pass Kimi [Raikkonen]. I was ahead of him all the way to Turn 2 and when we went into the corner.
"I was behind Ricciardo but Kimi made a lunge and put me in the barriers. I feel it was my corner and I was on the racing line, but he locked up and hit me. I feel the mistake was on his side. It’s a shame because Sergio showed we had the pace to do really well here.
"I am still very pleased with the team’s result and I hope we can carry our performance forward to Barcelona and beyond."
The 2007 world champion felt there was no blame on his side as he was already alongside the Force India in the braking zone of the corner, however, he wasn't sure if the Frenchman saw him in time to avoid the collision.
Raikkonen told F1's Paddock Pass: "I went on the inside, I was a little bit past him and then I slowed down more because there was a lot of cars going into the corner.
"Suddenly, we were next to each other and he just turned in, I don't know if he saw me, he should have seen me because I was already next to him under braking."
Stewards also concurred with Raikkonen, deeming that no penalty was necessary for either driver.
