What the Verstappen/Hamilton Brazil crash teaches F1 about a 2021 rematch

Imola 2021, Silverstone 2021, Monza 2021, Jeddah 2021 and now Interlagos 2022.

At the venue where they also clashed controversially but didn’t actually make contact last year, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collided yet again. In a race packed with storylines thanks to George Russell’s impressive maiden Formula 1 win and team-mate wars across the grid, this was surely the headline act.

It wrecked Verstappen’s quest to end 2022 with a perfect run of five wins (and a possible total of 16) and was a key factor in Mercedes finally ending its 21-race win drought.

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Verstappen insists his tyre wear was too bad to fight the silver cars for victory, as was the case with Russell’s first win of the weekend in the sprint – where Verstappen was also in the wars – but his skills in this pivotal area and Red Bull’s attacking strategy calls no doubt would have created an extra challenge for the eventual winner.

The Verstappen/Hamilton crash was also a notable one on that list above – along with Imola, which must be included even if it was not as spectacular as the rest because they did touch and because one car, Hamilton’s, ended up damaged. Last weekend’s moment was interesting because, even though the stewards said the Dutchman was “predominantly at fault”, really, it was both of them.

Hamilton turned in for Turn 2 with his wheels ahead at the apex, as his momentum on the inside line through Turn 1 had taken him back past the Red Bull, which had swooped around on the outside at the safety car restart but not stayed ahead – important and understandable factors in why the stewards ruled as they did.

But Verstappen’s Turn 1 attack, which looked for the briefest moment like he was backing out of a pass before it turned into more of a Monza move, had brought him significantly alongside the Mercedes. This is another key part of the 2022 racing guidelines, which determine that in such circumstances the attacking driver should be granted room.

Verstappen's outside line into Turn 1 on the first restart precipitated his moment with Hamilton

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Hamilton was tighter into Turn 2 than normal and with Verstappen half over the kerbs where they collided. The Mercedes suffered front floor damage, with Verstappen needing a new front wing.

Given the impact it had on both their races, especially Verstappen’s given he fell to 17th after repairs (while Hamilton tumbled to eighth without a service), a racing incident being declared would have been the best approach.

In all their other crashes, one driver has mainly been at fault and was sanctioned appropriately – bar Imola, which was also on the limit of acceptability. Verstappen summed it up: “I saw he had no intention to give me space, and I had no intention to back out.”

Hamilton would not be drawn on the crash, beyond saying “you know how it is with Max” in parc ferme and then “it's natural when you have the success and the numbers on your chest, that you become a bit of a target” in the post-race press conference after he’d recovered to second.

This is surely confirmation Verstappen races Hamilton differently to any other driver. Perhaps it’s because he recognises that they are in a class of two as the best drivers on the grid, even in a year when Charles Leclerc has showed potential to join them

As ever, we can pick out key themes and lessons from this incident.

The first is that this is surely confirmation Verstappen races Hamilton differently to any other driver. Perhaps it’s because he recognises that they are in a class of two as the best drivers on the grid, even in a year when Charles Leclerc has showed potential to join them and Hamilton has made major mistakes. Verstappen didn’t need to make the move in the manner and moment he did with the whole race ahead.

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He wouldn’t be the first driver seeking to make an era-changing statement with their racing against rivals. And there was a steadfast refusal to cede ground that wasn’t visible with his early 2022 battles against Leclerc. Stacked against that is Verstappen’s knowledge the title battle then wasn’t won (though Imola 2021 was race two of that campaign) and his needlessly aggressive defence against Mick Schumacher at Silverstone.

Verstappen took the punishment for the contact - but was it six of one, half-a-dozen of the other?

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

The move also bears a striking resemblance to Verstappen’s 2018 crash with Esteban Ocon at the same corner that so incensed him – albeit without the controversy of the Racing Point being a lap down and the unsightly scenes in the paddock afterwards. Plus, in the sprint, Russell showed it was possible to make an outside Turn 1 pass, back off with the car ahead (Verstappen again) forcefully holding its line, then attack successfully later.

But it appears from the outside that, in this instance, Hamilton may have been sending a message too. It differed from Silverstone 2021 in that there he just could not afford to back down given the pre-race points standings, but here, with nothing to lose other than a victory shot, Hamilton was content to pay that price.

Perhaps he thought he could still catch Russell given his team-mate had yet to prove he could go the distance, which would actually do a disservice to the younger Briton’s 2020 Sakhir GP performance as Hamilton’s stand-in. There, Russell pretty much won the race twice before circumstances conspired against him, as they so nearly did again in Brazil with the water leak aboard his W13 occurring at half-distance.

But even if that was not the case, Hamilton showed a Verstappen-like determination in turning in as he did. And, for the neutral, it was captivating drama. For the partisan, inevitably, the ‘other guy’ was at fault.

This race and the clash it contained also raised hopes for 2023 – much needed given Red Bull’s dominant march to the two titles this year, with the RB18 tipped to spawn a generation of winning machinery. This mainly centres on Mercedes’ performance in Brazil and Mexico.

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The circumstances did flatter the team a touch at Interlagos – Red Bull got things wrong on tyre life with just a single practice session to prepare on the final sprint weekend of the year, per suggestions made by Red Bull boss Christian Horner. And, although Interlagos’ sectors one and three are lengthy acceleration zones, the track layout meant Red Bull’s top-speed prowess couldn’t be brought to bear as it is elsewhere.

But there’s no doubt Mercedes has made the W13 faster with its floor and wing updates, brought in at the United States GP last month. The car is lighter and producing more downforce. And the hope is now F1 will get a three-way fight for the title in 2023, given Ferrari stopped developing its car, it says, after hitting the 2022 cost cap.

Hamilton got away with less damage from the contact; Verstappen had to pit for a new nose

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

So, if Mercedes really is back and can leapfrog Ferrari to be Red Bull’s closet challenger next year, F1 is surely set for a 2021 rematch. Ferrari can’t be written off, but it demonstrated in Brazil qualifying it still hasn’t solved its strategy problems and both its drivers had clashes (not that Leclerc was in any way at fault for his!) last weekend.

Insight: 10 things we learned from the Brazilian Grand Prix

If ‘F1 2021: The Sequel’ is coming, we know Verstappen won’t change. He demonstrated his iron will again in the late-race team orders controversy with Sergio Perez. Really, it’s a key part in his success.

Hamilton still could, however. His experience from losing the 2016 title to Nico Rosberg means he won’t risk retiring in a crash if he thinks a title will be on the line eventually. It served him well in the past until he had to reply at Copse last year. But, might he be out to send another message to Verstappen based on his fighting-talk statements from 2022’s pre-season and what we saw last weekend? If so, another early season clash is surely likely.

Ideally, they won’t and F1 will have clean, close and candid title fight between two F1 greats, with Leclerc’s speed and Ferrari’s legend thrown in. That would be a spectacle to eclipse 2021, not just replay it.

Can 2023 offer a three-way title fight?

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images