Max Verstappen recently recalled the infamous crash he had with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 British Grand Prix at Copse Corner. While streaming on Twitch with his friends, the Dutchman explained how it is possible to push to the limit without bumping into your rival at that turn. Since he was undoubtedly attempting to take a jibe at Hamilton for crashing into him, the Briton’s fans have urged the Red Bull driver to “move on.”
Move on? pic.twitter.com/DWDWdGmHPQ
— Tom Sp8 ㅅ⃝ (@Tom_Speight98) January 23, 2024
The video that has now gone viral begins with one of Verstappen’s friends telling the three-time F1 world champion, “I counted about 700 times you and Chris went through Copse side by side. Absolutely mesmerizing.” On hearing the same, Verstappen was quick to respond as he cheekily said, “So it does work, you know, going side by side through that corner“?
The incident at the 2021 British GP sent shockwaves as the accident resulted in Verstappen visiting the hospital for precautionary checks. On that occasion, Hamilton and Verstappen had a 51-G crash that sent the Dutchman ‘flying’ into the barriers. While the Red Bull driver failed to score any points for the race despite starting on pole, Hamilton controversially won the race despite serving a 10-second penalty for ‘causing a collision’.
Since Verstappen ended up on the receiving end, it seems unsurprising that he still continues to have a vivid memory of the incident. However, Hamilton fans do not seem to understand why he cannot move on.
Fans such as Marina advised Verstappen to “move on and stop crying,” as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have already proven that it is possible to drive around Copse Corner without crashing into each other.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc already proved that in actual real life racing in 2022, not in a game.
It’s time to move on and stop crying. https://t.co/vK0hS30CUW
— Marina (@xxoMarina) January 24, 2024
Meanwhile, fans such as Stefanie do not understand why is Verstappen still remembering an incident that they believe “he could have prevented“.
How is he still crying about a racing accident that he could have prevented
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) January 24, 2024
Silverstone crash took Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s rivalry to a new level
Although Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the race in controversial circumstances, he and his team did not compromise on their celebrations. The way the Briton celebrated unsurprisingly irked Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
The Dutchman did not hesitate to slam Hamilton for his celebrations by referring to it as “disrespectful and unsportsmanlike.” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, too, was incensed with the move Hamilton pulled out to win the race.
Glad I’m ok. Very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us and doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track. Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behavior but we move on pic.twitter.com/iCrgyYWYkm
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 18, 2021
While speaking to Sky Sports after the race, the 50-year-old referred to Hamilton’s win as a “hollow victory” before adding, “He’s (Hamilton) put a driver…thank goodness the biggest result for us today is that he (Verstappen) was uninjured. He’s having to go to hospital for precautionary checks after a 51G accident, so I hope Lewis is very happy with himself“.
While Hamilton and Verstappen had a tight battle from the very get-go of the 2021 season, the British GP was a turning point. It was the race at Silverstone that transformed the rivalry from merely tense to one that was ugly and at times perhaps even ‘unsportsmanlike’.
