The long-awaited duel took place, and we enjoyed ourselves for almost a lap. After’huge Verstappen startup Saturday during the first sprint race in the history of F1, placing the Dutchman on pole this Sunday to the detriment of Lewis Hamilton, the Briton almost returned the favor to his opponent. But Max held on to the first corner, even slipping out of the curbs, and the two fought an intense battle on the first lap of the circuit.
In one of the last corners of the circuit, after a long straight, Hamilton throws himself inside while Verstappen is in front. The RedBull driver’s right rear tire hit the Mercedes’ front-left, and the Dutchman’s car spun at full speed, one tire blown off, before ending its race in a wall of tires.
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Reassured to see that @ Max33Verstappen is fine.#BritishGP 🇬🇧
▶ ️ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/Tmxb5HtZ8w
– CANAL + F1® (@ CanalplusF1) July 18, 2021
Verstappen finally got out of the car conscious, supported by the assisting doctor, and went for medical exams. Yesterday, Formula 1 commemorated the 6 years since the death of Jules Bianchi, victim of a severe head trauma after crashing into a lifting machine on the Suzuka circuit.
The race was interrupted for more than 40 minutes and Lewis Hamilton was given a 10 second penalty, to be taken during his pit stop. Christian Horner, director of RedBull, believes that “all drivers know that you don’t get inside in this corner”, indicating that Verstappen could not see Hamilton.