2021 was a groundbreaking year for Max Verstappen. He broke into the sport in 2015 as a 17-year-old and took the sport by storm. Verstappen guided Red Bull to some amazing wins and performances until 2020, but couldn’t challenge for the Title because of Mercedes’ dominance.
In 2021, Red Bull finally gave Verstappen a car that was capable of challenging Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes and the Dutchman welcomed it with open arms. He became the first World Champion ever from the Netherlands, but it wasn’t a smooth ride. He won the Title on the final lap of the final race, after a race & season full of controversy and drama that began from the very get-go.
At the Azerbaijan GP that year, Verstappen was the most dominant driver on the track. Despite losing out on pole position to Charles Leclerc, he took the lead in just over two laps and was miles ahead of any threat from the Mercedes drivers. Unfortunately, his tires blew towards the end of the race, which led to him suffering a scary crash, hence ending his race.
Lando Norris feels Max Verstappen could have been seriously hurt in Baku
Verstappen’s crash was scary because he was going at full speed on the main straight when his tires blew up. The 25-year-old lost control of his car, after which he momentarily swerved before hitting the barriers.
During a Twitch stream, McLaren driver Lando Norris was reacting to Verstappen’s crash and shared his thoughts on it. The Briton feels that Verstappen could have had a much worse crash if his car hit the barriers on the left. This was in reference to the dangerous pit-lane entry in Baku, which has been criticized by many drivers in the past including Nico Rosberg.
Norris thinks that Verstappen could have been seriously hurt, but got off lucky because his car hit the right side, front wing first.
“If he just corrected and went there (left), that would have been, boom,” the McLaren star said.
Verstappen’s crash brought the red flag out and all cars entered the pit lane. After the race was restarted, Verstappen’s Title rival Hamilton suffered a lock up which put him out of the points places. Sergio Perez ensured Red Bull got the race win that afternoon, which was the Mexican driver’s first win for the Milton-Keynes-based outfit.
