- Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collided at the 2021 British Grand Prix
- Red Bull star crashed into tyre wall at high speed in dramatic incident
- Verstappen has revealed that he had medical problems after the accident
Max Verstappen has revealed he was suffering from a long-term medical problem following his crash with Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone in 2021.
The Red Bull driver and Hamilton had been battling for the world title throughout the 2021 season, with the British Grand Prix providing one of the most dramatic moments.
Verstappen and Hamilton collided at Copse Corner while battling for the lead of the race.
The collision ultimately caused the Dutchman to crash into the tyre wall at 180mph, while Hamilton went on to take victory.
Verstappen admitted in an interview with Red Bull Bulletin that he was affected by the accident for several months after the incident.
Max Verstappen has revealed he suffered a medical issue after his crash at Silverstone in 2021
Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen collided while fighting for the lead at the British Grand Prix
Verstappen hit the tyre wall at around 290km/h in one of the most dramatic moments of the season.
He described his victory at the United States Grand Prix three months later as a “special victory” because of his vision problems during the race.
‘A lot of people don’t know this, but at the time I was still suffering from vision problems due to my accident at Silverstone.
‘So the track sometimes started to get very undulating for me and during the race I was struggling, of course Lewis was catching up to me, but at the same time I was struggling with myself because I was struggling with my vision.
“It was like riding a wave on a boat at 300 kilometres per hour. I had to try to control my breathing in other ways to get rid of the problem, nothing else worked.
‘For several laps I was on the verge of stopping the car because I couldn’t see properly. This happened on tracks with potholes or with lots of advertising boards.
‘I never told anyone at the time because I was fighting for the championship, so for me it’s a really special win.’
Verstappen claimed he had suffered blurred vision at the United States Grand Prix three months later but still won the race.
Verstappen was taken to hospital for precautionary checks as a result of the crash, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner later revealing in 2021 that the star had been “knocked out” in the accident.
Red Bull attacked Mercedes after the race, claiming its post-race celebrations for Hamilton’s win were “disrespectful” while Verstappen was receiving checks in hospital.
Verstappen did not miss any races after the incident and his hard-fought victory at the United States Grand Prix came in the seventh event since the crash at Silverstone.
He would eventually claim his first world title, controversially beating Hamilton at the season-ending Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.