Max Verstappen had his fair share of controversies and incidents while being in Formula 1 for the last nine years.
The most recent of those took place while leading the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, when the Dutchman had a comfortable lead over Lando Norris before a slow pit stop put his win under threat at Red Bull’s home race.
In front of a sea of his adoring ‘orange army’ Dutch fans, Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel with Norris before contact between the pair at Turn 3 caused both to sustain significant damage to their cars.
While Norris was forced to retire, the Red Bull driver could limp back to the pits and rejoin the race. He ultimately finished fifth, even with a 10-second time penalty that was issued by the stewards who felt he was wholly at fault for the move.
It’s not the first time Verstappen has crashed while leading an F1 race and it is likely not the last…
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
A frightening crash while leading the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the high-speed Baku street circuit forced Verstappen to retire on the spot.
The Dutchman picked up debris from an earlier incident on track and his rear tyres gave way as he entered the start/finish straight – one of the fastest points track where drivers can reach up to 230mph.
Luckily his car spun into the inside barrier rather than in the direction of the pit lane, but it was another incident that characterised that fierce title battle with Lewis Hamilton.
2021 British Grand Prix
Another high-speed crash, this time at Silverstone during the opening laps of the race. Both Verstappen and Hamilton were fighting for the lead, with the pair exiting Luffield close to each other.
With Hamilton on the back of Verstappen’s rear wing, he made a move to the inside as they approached the highspeed Corpse right-hander. Verstappen was on the outside of the corner and swept in to take the apex when his rear right collided with Hamilton’s front left and sent him off the track at 200mph.
The 51G impact into the barriers completely destroyed his RB16B, with him being taken to hospital in the aftermath as a precaution.
2021 Italian Grand Prix
Another battle with Hamilton, this time at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza where Verstappen was third on the grid and was competing with the Mercedes driver for the win.
Hamilton made his first pit stop a lap after Verstappen and emerged ahead briefly as they entered Turn 1, but Verstappen made the move on the outside and the two collided at Turn 2. This pitched Verstappen into the air, with him landing on top of Hamilton as they both hit the gravel trap.
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Neither could get out of the gravel, which forced them both to retire and set Daniel Ricciardo on course for McLaren’s first win in nearly 10 years.
2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
The penultimate round of the 2021 title battle saw Verstappen and Hamilton go head-to-head again on track. The pair collided when Verstappen tried to let Hamilton pass after being told to cede the position by Red Bull, following conversations between the stewards over breaking track limits earlier in the race.
Verstappen tried to strategically move aside before the final corner so he could get the DRS advantage on Hamilton down the start/finish straight, but the Mercedes driver was not told and he was effectively brake-tested into the corner.
While Verstappen did not sustain any damage to his car, Hamilton’s front wing was damaged. The Mercedes driver still managed to win the race, while the stewards handed Verstappen a 10-second time penalty for being “predominantly at fault” for the crash.
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