Chilton takes the penalty

Max Chilton ended his run of consecutive Formula One finishes in real disappointing circumstances in Canada.

The British driver had completed 25 consecutive races, with 19 of those coming last season during his rookie Formula One season, an F1 record.

But any hopes of challenging Nick Heidfeld’s all-time record of 41 consecutive classified finishes ended on the opening lap in Montreal.

It was certainly in stark contrast to the celebrations in Monaco as the team secured their first ever points, as the entire team had to pack up to go home just minutes into the race.

This was because Max Chilton and team-mate Jules Bianchi collided, ending both of their races.

‘The incident between myself and Jules obviously ended not only our own races but also the Team’s, so it’s sad for all the guys after making such progress again. I had a good start, pulled away from the cars behind into Turn 1, queued into Turn 2, then we had a coming together into Turn 3. Chilton told formula1.com.

Team-mate Bianchi added: ‘I got a great start, kept everyone who was behind me behind and then obviously Max and I were racing each other through Turns 2 and 3. I braked into Turn 3 and there was an impact, after which I ended up in the wall with a badly damaged car.

Whilst the two drivers were not blaming each other, publicly at least, the race stewards blamed Chilton, handing the 23-year-old a three-place grid penalty for the Austrian Grand Prix.

This seemed a harsh decision considering it was the opening lap of the race and the limited replays appeared to show a racing incident.

Sky Sports Formula One commentator Martin Brundle certainly didn’t agree with the race stewards decision: ‘It was 100% Max’s fault, but it was the first lap of the race, there was nothing malicious or wild about it, he just lost the car on the apex of turn three, He was on the racing line, it is not as if he went racing in with his wheels locked up and t-boned him.’