Max Verstappen reveals the shocking secret medical issue he suffered after crash with Lewis Hamilton, when he smashed into a tyre wall at Silverstone
Max Verstappen has revealed he suffered from a long-standing medical issue after his crash with Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone back in 2021.
The Red Bull driver and Hamilton had been battling for the world title during the 2021 season, with the British Grand Prix providing one of the most dramatic moments.
Verstappen and Hamilton had collided at Copse Corner when battling for the lead in the race.
Verstappen admitted in an interview with the Red Bull Bulletin that he had been impacted by the crash for several months after the incident.
He highlighted his victory at the US Grand Prix three months later as being a ‘special win’ due to struggling with his vision during the race.
‘Many people don’t know this but at the time I was still suffering from vision problems from my crash at Silverstone.
‘So the track sometimes started to go really wavy for me and during the 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 300 kilometres per hour. I had to try to control my breathing in a different way 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 bumpy or had loads of advertising boards.
Verstappen was taken to hospital for precautionary checks as a result of the accident, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealing later in 2021 that the star had been ‘knocked out’ in the crash.
Red Bull had hit out at Mercedes following the Grand Prix, claiming their post-race celebrations of Hamilton’s victory were ‘disrespectful’ while Verstappen had been ongoing checks in hospital.
Verstappen did not miss any races following the incident, with his battling US Grand Prix win coming in the seventh event since the crash at Silverstone.
He eventually would claim his first world title, edging out Hamilton in controversial fashion at the season ending Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
