Max Verstappen battled worrying health issue as result of major Lewis Hamilton crash
Max Verstappen has opened up on a worrying health issue he suffered after colliding with Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen has revealed that he struggled with a visibility issue for months after his crash with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 British Grand Prix. The duo collided at Silverstone at the height of their fiery battle for that year’s World Drivers’ Championship.
Advancing on the outside of Copse Corner, Verstappen made contact with Hamilton and spun into the gravel. His Red Bull car struck the tyre barrier with a force of 51G and caused an issue with his vision.
Verstappen has now admitted that the problem lasted for several months and impacted him during his US Grand Prix victory. The 26-year-old did not tell anyone for fear that his world title battle would be brought to an abrupt end.
"Many people don't know this, but at the time I was still struggling with vision problems from my crash in Silverstone,” Verstappen told Red Bull’s The Red Bulletin magazine.
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"So the track sometimes started to go really wavy for me and during that race I was battling, of course, Lewis catching me but at the same time battling myself because I was struggling with my vision. It was like riding a wave on a boat while going at 300kph.
"So I had to try to control my breathing in a different way to try to get rid of the problem - nothing else was working. For quite a number of laps, I was almost about to stop the car because I couldn't see properly.
"It happened at tracks that were very bumpy or had loads of advertising boards. I never told anyone at that point as I had a world championship battle. That's why for me it's a really special win."
Verstappen won his first world title that year under controversial circumstances, beating Hamilton to the finish line at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the year’s final race. He says he never wants to relive the battle with the Mercedes star.
Verstappen revealed: "I don't think I would want to relive that year."
He explained: "It was very hectic. I think fighting for a first title is very difficult. Now, after winning three of them, to try to relive that first championship year... I think it would be very tough.
“But you know, when you're in the situation, you just go for it. You try your best and things happen, but ideally I would not want to relive it.”
