Top 5 crashes of the 2021 F1 season ranked: Controversial F1 season had game-changing collisions; where do they rank?

The 2021 season has been one of the most exhilarating seasons Formula One has seen in recent history.

From legendary on-track battles, off-track politics and even some jaw-dropping crashes, this season had it all.

Now that the season is finished and a new champion has been crowned, as the dust settles, we take a look back at some of those crashes. Thankfully, this season saw no F1 driver get seriously injured in any of these instances.

Before we begin, we give an honourable mention to Williams driver Nicholas Latifi. In terms of impact on the championship, it is undeniable that his Abu Dhabi crash had a huge influence on the dramatic conclusion of the season.

#5 Verstappen mounts the Mercedes in Monza

Thanks to two slow pitstops for the two championship protagonists, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton saw each other in their going into turn one wheel to wheel. 

While Hamilton had his nose in front of the Red Bull, both went into the tight right-hander together. It can be argued that Hamilton left little to no space for the Dutch driver as their rear tyres touched. This sent Verstappen into the sausage curbs which in turn launched him up into the air.

The Dutchman’s Red Bull then landed on top of Hamilton’s Mercedes and both of them were effectively out of the race. This crash did little to help the relationship between the two contenders on the track and off it as well.

#4 Bottas goes bowling in Hungary

The Hungarian Grand Prix of 2021 will surely not be remembered fondly by fans of the Finn driver. The wet start of the race promised an exciting opening lap but nobody would have imagined the carnage that ensued after Valtteri Bottas locked his brakes going into turn 1.

As this happened, the Finn sent it into the back of Lando Norris’ McLaren who in turn hit Max Verstappen. The Finn also took out Red Bull’s Sergio Perez while he was at it. This did have a domino effect on the race and we ultimately saw Alpine’s Esteban Ocon record his first-ever Grand Prix win. There was too much drama in this race to properly describe it.

Also read: Toto Wolff on why Lewis Hamilton hasn’t opened about Abu Dhabi GP and following controversies

#3 Lando Norris’ scary Spa qualifying shunt

Spa Francorchamps is one of the fastest, longest and most dangerous tracks on the modern F1 calendar. The qualifying session was plagued with blinding rain and the track conditions were precarious.

The infamous Eau Rouge corner lived up to its menacing legacy once more as when Q3 came up, the rain started to pour harder than ever. The corner claimed its first and thankfully only victim of the race weekend in the form of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Mere seconds before the crash ultimately happened, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel demanded a red flag be shown as the conditions were too dangerous for the laps to take place. Unfortunately, it was too little too late.

Every crash at Eau Rouge always manages to make the drivers, teams and fans alike skip a beat and this nasty shunt for Norris was no different. Luckily, the McLaren driver walked it off with no serious injury.

#2 Tempers flare in Imola

Another wet race. The second race of the season saw a brutal crash between the Williams of George Russell and Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes. With Bottas being off the pace and struggling to remain in the points, he was giving it his all trying to defend from a charging Russell. 

The young Briton tried to overtake the Finn from the right. Bottas tried to close the door on him, causing Russell’s front right tyre to go on the wet grass and ultimately lose his grip.

The loss of grip caused the Williams to fly into the Mercedes at an incredibly high speed and took out both of the drivers involved. The structural integrity of both the chassis’ on the cars meant that both drivers got out okay.

However, the exchange between the two immediately after the crash turned sour as Russell went over to Bottas to tell him off and also smack him on the helmet.

#1 THAT incident in Silverstone

Silverstone will still remain a talking point for the foreseeable future. The tussle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen turned sour for the rest of the 2021 season after this incident between the two.

Fans from both camps still defend their favourite drivers for this incident. The opening lap in the British GP saw both championship protagonists leaving no holds barred as they jostled for position. 

Going into the Copse corner which is one of the fastest corners of all current F1 tracks, Lewis Hamilton’s front left tyre touched Verstappen’s rear right as the latter turned into the right-hander ahead of the Briton. 

This contact sent Verstappen flying into the barriers at a massive 51G impact. This incident was the tipping point in the impressive lead that Verstappen had managed to build in the driver’s championship. It was also the tipping point in the rivalry between the two.

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