The Belgian GP “who done it?” might finally have an answer now. The race at Spa saw some incredible driving from Max Verstappen and a lot of drama in the opening few laps. Fans saw old teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas crash out and a mystery pit from Charles Leclerc.
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The crashes needed no explanation, but Leclerc’s mystery pit-stop in the fourth lap of the Belgian GP was a question mark. Because of the bright sunlight, most drivers took off their visors during the opening laps. The littering affected only the Monegasque as a visor flew into Leclerc’s F1-75 brake duct and required attention.
The Ferrari man pitted for a new set of mediums and got the visor off. Most people blamed the car in front (which was Verstappen’s) for that early pit. However, F1 analyst Sam Collins, after carefully studying the incident, has revealed the culprit. Spoiler Alert: it’s not Max Verstappen.
Reuters
Formula One F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 2, 2022 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during practice REUTERS/Yves Herman
Collins used dashcam footage to solve the mystery and revealed the exact moment when Max Verstappen took off his visor with the help of the landmark. Using the same marker as a reference, the analyst pointed out the moment the culprit’s visor hit Charles Leclerc. With the help of the landmark, he explained it couldn’t have been the 2021 F1 world champion.
However, the culprit who took their visor off in the right window of opportunity was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. The Canadian took off his visor right after crossing the landmark, which got stuck in Leclerc’s brake duct.
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The excellent police work from Collins has now become a talking point on Twitter.
Twitter reacts to Max Verstappen getting his name cleared from Leclerc’s visor incident
The incident forced an early pitstop for Charles Leclerc and everyone initially blamed Max Verstappen for it. However, without waiting for the final verdict, the world of Twitter made their feelings known about the visor tear-off.
It’s safe to say, the reactions were divided. Hence, first, let’s look at the ones the fans of Verstappen shared.
Why couldn't it have gone into Max's brakes instead of Charles man. I would not have shut up about Max winning from P whatever he would've ended up😭
Whose visor tear-off was it?! 👀 F1 TV's weekend debrief dived into the onboards to find out whose tear-off forced Leclerc into the pits 😬 Spoiler: It wasn't Max... 😱 Watch Weekend Debrief in full with your F1 TV subscription 👉 f1.com/BEL_Weekend_De… #F1
I didn't realize as well Max's visor tearoff got stuck in Leclerc's *brake duct* at Spa. Man has literal sabotage on his side.
A lot of fans shared their disbelief and annoyance at the situation. Safe to say, these may be fans of Charles Leclerc.
whoever's tearoff it was in charles' brake im coming for you. ruined his race 😑
Max be bullying Charles lately. Overtaking him, spin and overtake him again in Hungary. ended his chances of finishing on the podium because of the tearoff!!
However, there was also a group who waited to find out the real culprit before handing out judgment.
Ahh the mystery has been solved.. Whoever claiming that Max's tearoff stuck in Charles' car and even Charles is believing the claims aree busted... So all of you so called "experts" can hold their houses... #F1 #DutchGP
Whose visor tear-off was it?! 👀 F1 TV's weekend debrief dived into the onboards to find out whose tear-off forced Leclerc into the pits 😬 Spoiler: It wasn't Max... 😱 Watch Weekend Debrief in full with your F1 TV subscription 👉 f1.com/BEL_Weekend_De… #F1
Turns out it was Lance Stroll his visor tearoff that forced Charles Leclerc to pit early, not Max Verstappens. p300.it/f1-gp-belgio-2…
The verdict is out and Max Verstappen has his name cleared from the incident.
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