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Tempers flare following dramatic pile-up at Tuscan Grand Prix

Romain Grosjean accused Valtteri Bottas of ‘wanting to kill’ him following a dramatic four-way crash in Sunday’s Tuscan Grand Prix.

Ahead of the restart on lap seven, leader Bottas controlled the pace to avoid Lewis Hamilton from getting a slipstream into the opening corner in Mugello.

But a number of the drivers behind the Finn were too eager to get on the accelerator pedal. In the middle of the pack, rookie Nicholas Latifi jumped on the gas but had to brake dramatically.

A concertina effect followed, with Antonio Giovinazzi slamming into the back of the Williams driver. McLaren’s Carlos Sainz then hit Giovinazzi, with the Italian driver sent airborne.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was blasted from behind by the out-of-control Giovinazzi, with all four cars ending up in the barriers along the main straight.

A furious Grosjean yelled over the radio: “That was f****** stupid from whoever was at the front. They want to kill us or what? This is the worst thing I have ever seen.”

But, following an investigation, Bottas was cleared by the stewards of any wrongdoing. Twelve of the 18 drivers still left in the race were warned but not one was found “wholly or predominantly to blame” for the pile-up.

Latifi, Giovinazzi and Magnussen walked away from the accident, but Sainz sustained bruising to both hands in the high-speed shunt. The crash led to the race being red-flagged for the second time in as many weekends.

Hamilton later pointed the finger at the stewards for overusing the safety car in a bid to create drama.

“It was not Valtteri’s fault at all but the decision-makers,” said the world champion.

“They are trying to make it more exciting but today they put people at risk. It was over the limit so there needs to be a rethink.

“These races can get boring when the field stretches out and the safety car brings it back closer together. They do it in NASCAR all the time to keep the racing exciting.

“But they have to take into account the safety aspect. Today wasn’t safe and you could see it coming.”