Source: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
[Saba Sports News] The year 2021 was the most intense in the championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. During that year’s British Grand Prix, the two collided severely shortly after the start of the race, resulting in Verstappen experiencing a force of up to 51 G. Although he was able to exit the car on his own after the incident, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that his driver had briefly lost consciousness. Ultimately, Verstappen was rushed to the hospital. Months later, in a pre-race interview, Verstappen revealed that his vision was still affected by the crash. Despite also suffering damage from the collision, Hamilton’s car benefited from a subsequent red flag, allowing the Mercedes team to perform emergency repairs. Hamilton ultimately won that race. After the race, the two teams engaged in a heated war of words, each blaming the other for the incident. During this time, Red Bull made the point that Hamilton and Mercedes staff should not have celebrated their championship win while Verstappen was still in the hospital. This incident severely strained the relationship between the two teams. Now, three years later, everyone can reflect on the incident more calmly. Recently, senior management from the Mercedes team admitted in an interview that their handling of the situation after the incident was inappropriate, emphasizing that they should have focused more on driver safety rather than mutual accusations and debating who was right or wrong.