Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has revealed it would have “been a DNF” for Lewis Hamilton had Sunday’s British GP not been red-flagged.

Starting second on the grid, Hamilton made a flying start at the British Grand Prix to challenge Max Verstappen for the lead.

The battle continued for several corners before ending at Copse on the opening lap when Hamilton collided with Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver was pitched into a high-speed crash, his impact with the barrier registering at 51G.

Verstappen was winded and bruised, his RB16B destroyed and the barrier also damaged in the crash, necessitating a red flag as the marshals cleared the car and then repaired the tyre barrier.