Verstappen had vision problems after incident with Hamilton in Silverstone

Verstappen had vision problems after crash Silverstone 2021

Verstappen and Hamilton fought an intense battle, not only for Formula 1 victory at Silverstone, but also in the championship. While overtaking at Copse corner, Hamilton tapped his rival off the track, sending Verstappen into the tyre stacks with a huge impact.

The Dutchman had to go to hospital after this, where he was allowed to leave the same evening. Yet he did not come away entirely unscathed. "Since my crash at Silverstone, I had been struggling with vision problems, especially on hilly tracks or circuits with a lot of advertising signs on the side of the track," the three-time world champion told Red Bulletin.

Looking back at his victory in the United States Grand Prix, which is in his personal list of best wins, he says: "In this race, I fought not only against Lewis, but also against blurred vision. It was like driving at 300 km/h in a speedboat. I've never told you this before, but for a few laps it was so bad that I seriously considered pulling the car over."

"The only thing that helped was concentrating on my breathing while Lewis was panting down my neck. This was an important win that I desperately needed in the battle for the championship," said a candid Verstappen.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy