Christian Horner claims Max Verstappen was knocked out in Silverstone after getting tagged by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen survived a staggering 51G crash at Silverstone after he collided with Lewis Hamilton. For precaution, Verstappen was taken to the hospital, but the Dutchman came out fine.
Though he had some bruises, and his body was sore for a few days. Christian Horner talking about the crash in the British GP, claims Verstappen was knocked out.
“He was, obviously, massively frustrated with the Silverstone outcome, because he’d done the hard work,” Horner told Channel 4. “He’d won the Sprint race, he got the pole for the main race, for the Grand Prix, and having held the start.”
“P2 had been an advantage all weekend there, [but] he managed to hold the start. It got pretty tasty down the Wellington Straight and then, of course, the accident.
“It was a massive accident, 51G. [It] broke the seat, I think it knocked him out, and it was, for sure, the biggest accident of his career. That was tough for him and he was disappointed that he let the team down.”
“That it was within the budget cap world that we are, [so] that’s a huge amount of accident damage as well. But he quickly brushed himself down and said on Monday, ‘If I had to do a race again today, I could do it. Battered and bruised, it would be a bit sore, but I could do it’.”
Also read: Former Red Bull driver feels Lewis Hamilton’s small mistakes reflect he’s under pressure
Monza is not similar to Silverstone
The two drivers again crashed in Monza, and this time Verstappen faced public criticism. However, Horner claims unlike Silverstone; the perpetrator knew that the victim was fine.
“I think it’s very different,” said Horner, comparing the two incidents. Max at Silverstone hit the wall at 51G, at 160 miles per hour, knocked out, airlifted to hospital.”
“It’s a big difference between that and the incident [at] Monza, where he could feel Lewis reversing while he’s still in the car, the engine still running!
“He knew Lewis was absolutely fine. Indeed, the Medical Car didn’t even see the necessity to visit the scene. So I think it was a completely different scenario.
“Of course, big things get made of this, those PR machines that go into motion, but it was a racing incident. He knew Lewis was absolutely fine. He could feel him trying to reverse out the gravel. So he was just disappointed that he’d lost an opportunity of a great result in Monza.”
