It has been a year since the clash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton during the first lap of last season’s British Grand Prix resulted in the Dutch driver’s Red Bull crashing into the guards.
Following the collision, Verstappen had to be taken to hospital to rule out any significant fractures as a result of the accident, and although Hamilton received a 10-second penalty for being the main culprit, the Briton went on to win the race.
This result caused tensions between the two drivers, to the point where the Red Bull driver and his father criticized Hamilton ‘s celebrations while he was in hospital, confirming that he deserved a higher penalty.
Along those lines, a series of comments from the leading figures of the Austrian team, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko against Hamilton led Mercedes to respond and say that the attacks had become too personal.
A year after the incident, Verstappen finds himself leading the F1 drivers’ championship, but this time he does not have Hamilton as his closest rival. Speaking to Motorsport.com’s sister publication GP Racing ahead of this year’s British Grand Prix , the Dutchman said he felt “good” going back to Silverstone and there was no lingering feeling of unease about what had happened.
“Of course, the accident was not pleasant, but I love this track,” said Verstappen about the track that gave birth to the category. “I love going there. There is a very good atmosphere with Formula 1, and we drive very fast. So I don’t have any kind of grudge. I can put those things aside.”
“Of course, it wasn’t nice what happened. It wasn’t a good shock for me personally, but we went back out there and tried to win, of course.”
In addition, he assured that he did not feel any concern for the local fans who could scold him: “The good thing is that, once we get into the car with the helmet on, you don’t hear anything,” he concluded.
