Max Verstappen’s crash caused by Lewis Hamilton, who was battling for the lead at Silverstone during the 2021 British Grand Prix, became one of the defining moments of this season’s title race.
Mercedes has admitted regret for its handling of Max Verstappen’s big crash at Silverstone in 2021.
It became one of the most memorable and controversial moments in this season’s fierce title race. On the first lap of the British Grand Prix, while chasing the leaders at Copse, Max Verstappen was running on the outside of Lewis Hamilton when his Red Bull cut him off and he went off the track at high speed.
The Dutchman hit a guardrail with a massive 51G impact and was taken to hospital as a precaution but was not seriously injured. Hamilton was found to be at fault for the collision and given a time penalty, but still won the race.
Christian Horner and Red Bull were furious and asked for a right of review but were denied, after which Mercedes issued a strongly worded statement accusing its rivals of “a concerted attempt to tarnish the reputation and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton”.
The silver arrow was criticized because he did not seem to respect the happiness of Barthappe when he went to the hospital bed.
Looking back on how the incident was managed, the Bradly Road Team Communication Manager acknowledged that “Red Bull staff should not take the survey on the Netherlands nation. \ “If you talk about what you regret, he talked about the members of the Red Bull Team, and after a little Max’s condition after Shunt in the 2021 Silver Stone, he said. Planet F1.
“I think how we were perceived as dealing with the fallout was the point at which our relationship deteriorated so dramatically that season. We could have acted differently, which would have better reflected our concern for Max’s well-being at that time, regardless of our view of the incident and whether it was right or wrong.
“So there was that aspect to it and then, even though it wasn’t intentional, the relationship and the relationship with the fan base got pretty extreme and that’s what happened. That was probably the moment.” If I could go back and change things, I think I would react and act differently that afternoon and in that moment.
The incident was one of many that Lord has encountered throughout his career, and he describes it as an “adrenaline-pumping moment” where emotions ran high and it was hard to deal with the situation. But he remains grateful that he has never had to deal with the dreaded situation in F1.
He added: “I’ve been very, very fortunate in my career not to be part of a team that’s had to manage the worst situation that you can face in F1, which is a very serious injury or fatality. Knock on wood, I very much hope never to have to do that either.”
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