The fight for the drivers’ championship had reached this penultimate race of the season red hot and many had been the voices in the paddock that had speculated on a possible accident between Verstappen and Hamilton, the two contenders for the world championship in 2021.
On lap 38 and after three red flags and with several controversial actions already between them, the Mercedes driver and the Red Bull driver engaged in a fast-paced battle in search of a victory that could become crucial for the championship. And, after several situations to the limit, both ended up colliding in a grotesque way.
Following an incident at the first corner in which Verstappen overstepped his defense, he received orders from the energy drink team wall to let Hamilton through, but the Dutch driver slowed down midway through the circuit’s fastest straight. just as Hamilton was positioned right behind him, causing a rarely seen collision that angered both the Briton and Mercedes.
Click here if you cannot see the video of the incident between Hamilton and Verstappen
Finding himself obliged to return to first position, Max Verstappen decided to do it in an area where he could then take advantage of the DRS to recover it. Hamilton was either completely surprised by the Dutchman’s braking in the middle of the straight or decided not to pass him there to also take advantage of the DRS. Be that as it may, he ended up hitting the rear of his RB16B in a rather strange way.
All this happened after Hamilton had already called Verstappen “crazy” on the radio after several clashes in the first corner in which the Red Bull driver never gave his arm to twist and forced the maximum, even beyond the limit, to his rival for the title.
With the two drivers still in the race despite the incident, Verstappen received a five-second penalty for his aggressive maneuver at Turn 1 and also had to let Hamilton pass, thus losing practically all his chances of victory and awaiting the final verdict of the race. FIA in reference to this last controversial action with a touch included in the middle of the straight.
