Mercedes Reveals Huge Max Verstappen Regret From Controversial 2021 Season

Saajan Jogia | 11 Hours Ago

Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton (44) is introduced before the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Mercedes chief communications officer Bradley Lord has revealed a big regret the team holds from the controversial 2021 season, where Lewis Hamilton engaged in a fierce championship battle with Max Verstappen.

Regardless of the championship outcome, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was a major tipping point in the rivalry between both drivers and teams, where Hamilton and Verstappen were involved in a big collision. While Verstappen received the brunt of the impact, the seven-time world champion went on to win the race.

The incident occurred at the Copse corner, where the drivers collided. Upon contact, the four-time world champion's car was sent hurtling into the barriers at high speed, and the impact of the crash was said to be 51G. Verstappen's huge hit meant he wasn't fully conscious after the incident and he had to be rushed to the hospital.

Hamilton's damaged car underwent repairs during the red flag, and despite a penalty, the Briton charged his way through the field to win his home race.

However, Mercedes then celebrated the win quite loudly and showcased a lack of concern for Verstappen's health.

Following the Silverstone race, the season saw both drivers in intense wheel-to-wheel action, leading Verstappen to eventually win his maiden Formula 1 title after race director Michael Masi allegedly applied incorrect rules in the closing stages of the race.

Nearly four years after the incident, Lord regrets the way Mercedes responded to the massive crash after Hamilton's victory at Silverstone. Speaking to PlanetF1, he said:

“If we were to talk something we regret, I think, having taken the word of a member of the Red Bull team – and therefore taken a little for granted – Max’s condition after his shunt at Silverstone in 2021.

“I think how we were perceived to handle that aftermath was a point at which that relationship in that season soured quite dramatically.

“We could have handled that in a different way that would have been more reflective of the concern we had for Max’s well-being at that point in time, regardless of our view of the incident and the rights and wrongs of it.”

What fueled the rivalry between the two sides was the aggression of their respective fan bases that continued to clash on social media, a factor that added to Mercedes' regret. Lord added:

“There was that side of things, and then to have, albeit unintentionally, antagonised the relationship, and the relationship with the fan bases in quite an extreme a way as it happened.

“That’s probably the moment. If we could go back in time and change it, I think we would change our responses and what we did at that point in time, around that afternoon.”

Despite being bad winners, Lord pointed out how graciously Hamilton and the team handled the loss of the championship to Verstappen at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi. He said:

“I look back on Abu Dhabi 2021 and how we handled the aftermath of that and, actually, the decision to say nothing and to not communicate was, hopefully, a powerful and elegant way to handle such a difficult situation where no words would have been sufficient to express how we were feeling."