Everyone Is Still Arguing Over F1 Crash at Silverstone
Whether a racing incident or Hamilton at fault, it's Verstappen who should have done better
Photo: cloudvisual via CC
There’s nothing quite like two championship rivals coming together to create a Formula 1 media buzz. It’s been over four days since the collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix and there’s still no sign of the debate abating. Everyone is pitching in: current drivers, former drivers, pundits, analysts, YouTube channels, you name it.
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Among current and former drivers, Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, Martin Brundle, Mika Häkkinen, Jolyon Palmer, and Karun Chandhok all say it was a racing incident. Jenson Button, Kevin Magnussen, Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa, Jacques Villeneuve, and Mark Webber have all pointed the finger at Hamilton.
Virtually nobody other than Hamilton himself and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff have attributed the majority of the blame to Verstappen, which says enough. It was a racing incident or Hamilton was at fault, but I would argue that either way, it doesn’t really matter. Wherever the blame lies, it was Verstappen that should have done better because he had the most to lose.
On public roads, it pays off to learn early on that the right of way only goes so far. If another driver doesn’t respect it, it’s no help to try to claim what’s rightfully yours if that means getting into an accident and possibly getting injured, particularly if you are a motorcyclist.
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Racing is full of moments like these — moments of calculated risk. Coming to Silverstone, Verstappen was ahead in the championship by a significant margin. The only thing that could genuinely threaten his advantage was retiring from the race. Yet his wheel-to-wheel duel with Hamilton was so spirited — and yes, entertaining — that one could have easily believed the whole championship was on the line.
The key factor is that for Hamilton, it possibly was. If Verstappen beat him yet again and extended his lead on the Brit’s own home turf, it could have been a major psychological blow. As the man on the back foot, Hamilton’s own aggressive, elbows-out driving made sense, as he had little to lose.
Over the past few years, during which Hamilton has amassed a record-breaking number of Grand Prix wins, he has shown he knows to avoid taking risks while in an advantageous position. Verstappen, for all the racing brilliance he has shown in 2021 so far, might have learned from his own experiences at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix and left more room on the track. Sure, that could mean giving up the win on Sunday, but second place is still much better than dead last.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.