© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
At the 2021 British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were involved in a controversial Lap 1 collision which led to Max crashing into the barrier. Lewis was later criticised by Red Bull for celebrating his victory. Now, he gives his comments.
On Lap 1 of the 2021 British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided, which led to Max crashing into the barrier.
Max was then taken to the hospital for precautionary checks, while Lewis won the race.
Now, ahead of the 2023 British Grand Prix, Lewis recounts the incident which garnered a lot of controversy.
“I lost out to Max on the start with a bit of wheel spin in the Sprint race [on Saturday] and ended up not being able to get close enough,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“I knew though that the next day I had to be ahead, I had to get ahead somehow. I think I got a better start but he still held on to it on the outside through Turn 1.
“We were dicing through [Turns] Three, Four all the way down in to Five where I think he ran me a little bit wide. I came back on him, got the exit of Seven…
“We collided, that’s what happens in races sometimes, it’s what motorsport sometimes entails.
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“I had a 10-second penalty so I was like ‘head down, focus, try to recover that’ which I did, which I thought was quite a feat.”
After the race Red Bull heavily criticised Hamilton and Mercedes for celebrating their victory while ‘Max was in the hospital’, which led to online fan abuse aimed at the Briton.
The reality is that Max was only at the hospital for precautionary checks, and by the time the race ended, Mercedes were already aware that he was fine.
Lewis now gives his perspective on the incident.
“You’re not thinking about what happened earlier on in the race, all you’re thinking of is being in the moment and sharing that with the fans.
“It wasn’t in spite of the guy who was competing who crashed, it was just spur of the moment sheer excitement – we won the Grand Prix after colliding, after losing the position the day before.
“That’s that,” the Briton concluded.
