Max Verstappen has revealed his vision was affected by the heavy crash he suffered after colliding with Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 British Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver spun sideways into a tyre barrier at Copse corner with a force of around 51G. He was able to climb from his cockpit and was taken to hospital for checks.
Three years on from the impact, Verstappen admitted he has found it difficult to see in some racing situations.
“Since my Silverstone crash, I’ve been struggling with vision problems, especially on bumpy tracks or those with many advertising boards along the track,” he told Red Bull’s website.
Verstappen returned to race in the next round after his crash. He described how the problem affected him during the 2021 United States Grand Prix. “In this race, I was not only fighting against Lewis but also against blurred images,” he explained, claiming he nearly retired at one point as a result.
“It was like driving a speedboat at 300kph. I’ve never mentioned this before, but for a few laps, it was so bad that I seriously considered parking the car.
“The only thing that helped was focusing on my breathing while I had Lewis right behind me. It was an important victory that I desperately needed in the championship fight.”
The collision occurred as Verstappen and Hamilton fought over the lead on the first lap of the race. The stewards ruled Hamilton was “predominantly at fault” for the clash and gave him a 10-second time penalty, despite which he was able to win the race.
Red Bull lobbied the FIA to impose a further penalty on Hamilton, submitting a ‘Right of Review’ request after using test driver Alexander Albon to simulate the Mercedes’ line through Copse, while Sergio Perez did the same in their simulator. The request was rejected and Mercedes responding by accusing “the senior management of Red Bull Racing” of trying to “tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton.
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