F1 News: Verstappen suffered lasting injury from Hamilton in 2021 (2nd Update)

(GMM) Max Verstappen has revealed he has been grappling with “visibility problems” ever since his huge crash at Silverstone in 2021.

At the height of their ultra-intense world championship battle, a tap from Lewis Hamilton at immense speed sent the Red Bull driver spearing into the barriers.

Verstappen, now a triple world champion, was briefly hospitalized following the 51G sideways impact, and he now reveals: “Since the crash, I’ve been struggling with visibility problems.”

The Dutchman told Red Bull’s German-language website that his visibility is now most affected “on undulating courses or those with lots of advertising boards along the side of the track.”.

“In this race, I wasn’t just battling against Lewis, but also against blurry images,” Verstappen said, recalling his win in Austin several months later.

“It was like driving a speedboat at 300kph. I’ve never said this before, but for a few laps it was so bad that I seriously considered turning the car off,” he added.

“The only thing that helped was concentrating on my breathing while Lewis was breathing down my neck.”

Max Verstappen has revealed that when Lewis Hamilton crashed him out of the 2021 British GP at Silverstone, he suffered from blurred vision the rest of the year, but still won the title.

He said after his USGP win that year, “Since my Silverstone crash (2021), I’ve struggled with visibility problems, especially on undulating circuits or those with lots of advertising boards on the side. I fight against blurred images”

(GMM) Max Verstappen is “doing surprisingly well” after his high-speed, 51G crash at Silverstone that left him briefly hospitalized.

While the story about Lewis Hamilton being subjected to alleged racial abuse on social media blew up around the world, his British GP rival Verstappen travelled home to Monaco on Monday after the Silverstone race weekend.

“A 51G impact is no joke,” Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko, who thinks seven time world champion Hamilton should have received a race ban for his overtaking move at Copse corner, told Osterreich newspaper.

“The fact that Max survived it shows how well trained he is.”

When asked how the 23-year-old Dutchman is doing now, Marko answered: “He’s back in Monte Carlo and is working already with his physio.

“He still complains of a stiff neck, but otherwise he’s doing surprisingly well. I would have thought he wouldn’t be able to move for a couple of days.”

Marko said immediately after Sunday’s race that Red Bull may challenge the arguably lenient 10-second penalty that ultimately did not stop Hamilton from winning.

When asked if the team will indeed pursue that, the 78-year-old Austrian said: “That would require new evidence, but everyone saw exactly what was going on.

“I ask myself – does it require more evidence than hitting an opponent’s rear wheel with your front wheel?”

However, Marko ruled out a scenario in which Verstappen enacts revenge on Verstappen.

“He will do everything in his power to win this world title,” he said. “But we will certainly not look for revenge or any other stupidities. We don’t go to that level.”

As for Hamilton’s jubilant victory celebrations while Verstappen was in hospital, Marko commented: “That’s just the way it is with Mercedes.

“Mr Wolff had no business going to the stewards, either. You don’t see (Austrian football coach) Foda going to the video referees to explain his personal point of view, do you?”