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Max Verstappen recently revealed that his scary crash in the 2021 British GP affected his vision. The Red Bull ace disclosed that he struggled with visibility after the crash while being embroiled in a tense title fight with Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen suffered a horrific crash at Silverstone after contact with title rival Hamilton. It sent him into the tire barriers at the Copse corner, with an impact of around 51g. He managed to climb out of his car and was taken to the hospital for medical checks.
Verstappen recently revealed that the incident affected his visibility for the rest of the season, particularly on undulating tracks. He recalled struggling with visibility during the United States GP held in October that year.
The two title contenders were evenly matched at COTA, with the Mercedes driver chasing the Red Bull driver in the final laps. Verstappen mentioned he was not only battling Hamilton but also struggling with blurry vision.
"Since my Silverstone crash, I've struggled with visibility problems, especially on undulating circuits or those with lots of advertising boards on the side of the track. In this race, I wasn't just fighting against Lewis, but also against blurred images," the Dutchman said to the Red Bulletin Magazine.
Max Verstappen described the experience as driving a speedboat at 300km/h. His struggles with visibility were so severe that he even contemplated retiring the car.
"It was like driving a speedboat at 300 km/h! I've never said this before, but it was so bad for a few laps that I seriously considered turning the car off. The only thing that helped was to concentrate on my breathing with Lewis breathing down my neck. An important win that I desperately needed in the championship fight," he added.
Despite the visibility problems, the Dutchman managed to keep Lewis Hamilton at bay, winning by a mere margin of 1.333 seconds. It was a crucial win as the two contenders were level pegged in the season finale, with the Red Bull driver taking home his first championship.
Max Verstappen comments on Lewis Hamilton's "special" home race victory
Lewis Hamilton last stood on the top step of the British GP podium in 2021 after the crash with Max Verstappen. He returned to the top step for the record ninth time at Silverstone this season, winning the race ahead of his Dutch counterpart.
The reigning F1 champion praised the Mercedes driver for making the right calls and acknowledged that a home race win was always special. He said to Viaplay, after the British GP:
"Great right? He of course drove a good race. Also made the right calls and they were just a bit faster than us. And for him to win infront of his home audience. Its just always special."
Max Verstappen was chasing Lewis Hamilton for the victory in the final laps, finishing around 1.4 seconds behind the race winner. Lando Norris rounded off the podium finishers.
