Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton went head to head for the 2021 F1 Championship in arguably one of the most intense season-long battles ever. Verstappen came out on top in the end but recently revealed the physical toll it took on him following a crash during one of their many tussles. The Dutchman also revealed why he kept his injuries concealed.
One of Hamilton and Verstappen’s most intense duels came in Silverstone that year, when the latter crashed out on the first lap of the British GP, suffering a 51G impact with the barriers. In the aftermath, not a lot was known of the extent of his injuries but Verstappen now admits that he had vision problems.
“It was just in 21. After that, it went away. It did occur, back then”, said Verstappen as reported by Crash. He didn’t actively blame it on the crash. But he revealed that these problems never arose before the 2021 British GP.
max about his visibility issues in 2021, to the press today:
“it was just in 2021, after that, it went away. it did occur back then. it’s not something I would advise people to have while driving. it got cured luckily.”
the part about not showing weaknesses.. oof. pic.twitter.com/u2fKx2AWt8
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) July 18, 2024
Not many people knew about the issue. That’s because he didn’t want to show weakness to anyone not close to him. “It got cured, luckily. I don’t want to go into details, no one needs to know.”
Verstappen revealed that he faced issues with his vision in Austin for the US GP that year in particular. The undulation at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) escalated his problem. Things were so bad that the Red Bull driver even considered retiring a few times. Still, Verstappen kept his cool and the fact that Hamilton chased him throughout the race made him focus and win.
At the same time, Verstappen wasn’t the only driver to be injured, as Hamilton himself took a major hit.
Hamilton’s injury at the hands of Verstappen
Silverstone wasn’t the only race in 2021 where Hamilton and Verstappen came together. The Italian GP is infamous for a crash where the Dutchman’s Red Bull ended up on top of Hamilton’s Mercedes after a turn 1 incident.
A charging Verstappen divebombed the Mercedes driver who was coming out of the pits. He didn’t leave enough space going into the second part of the chicane and the duo collided. The cars touched tires sending Verstappen’s car in the air before it grazed Hamilton’s.
Another hugely dramatic moment in the Verstappen/Hamilton title battle #ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/P4J4bN6wX2
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 12, 2021
After the incident, Hamilton revealed that he sustained a sore neck. According to Talksport, which quoted Sky Sports, Hamilton said, “I’m a little bit stiff and a bit sore on my neck. It (Verstappen’s car) landed on my head – but I’ll be OK.”
Hamilton and Verstappen’s fight for the 2021 title was one for the ages. Both headed into the final race level on points and could only be separated on the final lap, following a controversial decision made by then-race director Michael Masi, which went in Verstappen’s favor.
