“It’s one of the most painful things that can happen”– Max Verstappen talks about extreme physical pain he suffered before overtaking Lewis Hamilton during the final lap of Abu Dhabi GP 2021

Max Verstappen talks about the extreme pain he suffered while competing against Lewis Hamilton in the final lap of the Abu Dhabi GP.

The last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was no less than a golden goal between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. With the safety car diminishing the gap between the two, whoever reached first to the line was meant to take the title.

And Verstappen with fresher tyres sealed the deal. Though it wasn’t as easy as it appeared to be, the Dutchman explains a physical setback that almost made him quit the title.

It was an extreme pain right on his leg that led to having him a spasm by the end of the race. The 24-year-old world champion explains how he endured it.

“I tried to be really on it with the restart,” Verstappen told Guardian. “It was all working well until I crossed the line and started to feel a cramp in my leg. It’s one of the most painful things that can happen because you’re going full throttle for a long time.”

“You feel the muscle clenching and becoming like a tennis ball. Of course the adrenaline helps because, if it were to happen when you’re just walking around, you cannot move.”

“It’s impossible. But there was no option; I had to. So I was just keeping it full throttle and I could feel my leg hurting more and more. Luckily, turn five arrived and I went for the [overtaking] move. I had like three seconds off the throttle.”

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Max Verstappen tells how Lewis Hamilton was nearing amidst pain

In one of the straights, Hamilton almost came level to Verstappen, when both drivers were wheel to wheel. However, the Red Bull star managed to keep his lead, but also endured more pain.

He’s sum driver 👏#F1 📊 @Max33Verstappen pic.twitter.com/2Y3SQvSITT

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 7, 2022

“You then have two very long straights and, on the second one where Lewis came back at me, I could feel my foot vibrating. I couldn’t control it because the muscle was having a spasm. My foot on the last sector was like this …”

Verstappen laughs as he shakes his hand in a juddering motion. “If you go back over the data you will not see a very smooth throttle input. I was screaming on the radio [after he had won] but the whole lap my foot was going like that.”

“It was completely done. One more lap and I couldn’t have finished the race like that. The stress levels were so high in the final lap that probably your body reacts to that. But you cannot give up.”

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About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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