‘Saved my life’ – Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were involved in ‘horrible’ Italian Grand Prix accident

Of all the clashes during Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s 2021 title epic, it was the most innocuous that almost ended in disaster.

The pair of world champions came together an unprecedented number of times in the closest Formula 1 title bout of all time, rubbing wheels and crashing almost every weekend.

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Hamilton ceded track position to his rival to avoid contact on multiple occasions to start the campaign before deciding against it in Silverstone.

On that occasion the Dutchman went flying into a barrier at 51G and had to be taken for medical checks with a nasty headache.

From then on the rules of engagement were firmly set, and four races later there was little surprise when neither driver gave an inch heading into turn one.

Fighting for the lead Hamilton responded to a Verstappen pitstop with one of his own on lap 26, only to emerge alongside his rival, spiking the adrenaline in the cars, stands, and in front of the TVs at home.

Yet just as the two engaged for the umpteenth time, it was game over in just moments.

The Brit was ahead into the chicane, but Verstappen kept side-by-side turning right, before running out of space heading back left.

This wasn’t any normal venture off track, though, with the awkwardly-placed sausage kerbs inside the corner bouncing the Dutchman up and on top of Hamilton’s Mercedes.

Both ended up retired in a mess in the gravel, but it wasn’t until replays of the incident were shown that everyone not in the No.44 Mercedes realised how serious the accident was.

Not only did Verstappen’s Red Bull land on top of Hamilton’s but after the underside scraped across the roll hoop and protective halo, his rear right wheel dipped in the cockpit and shoved forward his rival’s head.

Verstappen ranted over the radio blaming a lack of space, but Hamilton left his summation until the media pen where he described just how serious things were.

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Hamilton was happy to be alive

“Honestly, I feel very fortunate today,” he said. “Thank God for the halo, that ultimately, I think, saved me, and saved my neck.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been hit on the head by a car before and it’s quite a shock for me, because I don’t know if you’ve seen the image but my head really is quite far forward. 

“I’ve been racing a long, long time, so I’m so, so grateful that I’m still here.”

His team principal Toto Wolff expressed similar concern, adding: “The halo definitely saved Lewis’s life today.

“It would have been a horrible accident that I don’t even want to think about if we didn’t have the halo.

“The championship was good fun up until now but we saw the halo save Lewis’ life today. We don’t want to see someone seriously hurt.”

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The aftermath of Hamilton v Verstappen

The stewards took Mercedes’ side and Verstappen received a three-place grid drop for the incident, but he showed little remorse, doubling down on his radio comments on social media.

“Today was very unfortunate. The incident could have been avoided if I had been left enough space to make the corner,” he wrote.

“You need two people to make that work and I feel I was squeezed out of it. When racing each other, these things can happen, unfortunately.”

The crash may well have been unfortunate and made worse by a kerb, but in reality the only fortune was good, with everyone safe and well from what could’ve been a disaster.

How did Hamilton v Verstappen finish?

The ramifications of the incident seemed to have some impact, but not for long, as the pair came together again in Brazil five races later when Verstappen twice pushed a charging Hamilton off track.

They then made contact again in Saudi Arabia when jostling for position and the DRS zone, leaving them astonishingly level on points for the Abu Dhabi finale.

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There Verstappen won the title with a jaw-dropping last lap overtake that ended up being shrouded in controversy over the safety car that provoked it.