Max Verstappen has explained that he was left "praying" other cars would miss him after his failure at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix.
From second on the grid, Verstappen bogged down at the start with an engine failure, and was left exposed as the field roared past.
Fortunately, the Dutchman was able to peel off to the left-hand side and was not collected by another car as he retired at the end of the first lap.
Reflecting on what happened, Verstappen explained that the issues had started on the formation lap.
"The formation lap already felt a bit off, but on the pre-start, it was completely normal, I found the RPM target, but it was going at all," Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365.
"It was just shooting up and down, and as soon as I dropped the clutch, that was it. The engine bogged down completely, and the noise I heard from the engine afterwards - I got some power back out of Turn 1, but I just lifted off and brought it home.
"I had no power, so I was steering left with the friction of the wheels, and I was just praying that everyone would go to the right.
"But everyone luckily reacted.
"If I were leading the championship, then of course, it is a very painful one, but like this, it is less painful but still really annoying and disappointing for everyone.
"Everyone wants to finish every single race, but I just hope we understand quickly what it is and fix it."
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