In 2024, several rivals have come in Max Verstappen’s path towards a 4th World Championship. While the previous seasons saw the Dutchman grab the F1 Drivers’ titles unrivaled, the tables have turned now. In the first 12 races of this year, we have had 6 different winners. And all of this has brought back memories of the last time F1 seemed this competitive to the fans: 2021. Ask any fan of the sport, and they will claim that ’21 was when they got to witness some edge-of-the-seat action thanks to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry.

While Hamilton stole the show at the recently-held British GP by grabbing his 104th race win, the scenario was different in Silverstone 3 years ago. He had clashed with Max in an incident that has gone down as one of the major points of rivalry between the two of them in F1 history. The Dutchman’s recent clash with Lando Norris in Austria brought back memories of ‘that crash’ with Hamilton all those years ago. And some details have now emerged regarding what happened to Max in the aftermath of that 2021 Silverstone clash.

On that fateful day of the British GP, Max Verstappen had been leading the pack with Hamilton tailing him. During the opening lap itself, the Briton attacked Max’s lead, and they collided at the Copse Corner.

Then, the FIA found Lewis Hamilton to be at fault as they slapped him with a 10-second penalty. Immediately after the incident, Max Verstappen was rushed to the hospital since his crash could’ve caused some serious medical issues. However, a complete evaluation of the Dutchman revealed he was alright, and thus the doctors discharged him as he had posted on X, mentioning, “Cleared from the hospital after all the checks were ok. Thank you to everyone for all the nice messages and best wishes 🙏🏻”.

Recently, Max Verstappen came out with details that still make him reel after hearing about that Silverstone crash. He said, “Since my crash in Silverstone, I have struggled with vision problems, especially on bumpy tracks or tracks with lots of billboards along the side.”

This has sparked speculations on how a racer with visual problems can even get clearance to contest in races. BBC Correspondent, Andrew Benson then clarified, “There are no specific tests required for a driver to be given a license to drive in F1, which is called a super license, other than to meet the qualifying criteria in terms of career results.”

However, Benson did say F1 has a system in place for racers who get into accidents to ensure that they can get urgent medical care – so, what is it?

Formula 1 has an alert system for racers who get into accidents

Despite recent advances in driver safety, Formula 1 will perhaps never stop being one of the most dangerous sports. Here, the racers travel at speeds north of 220 mph. So, obviously, the risk of crashing remains even after the introduction of novel innovations like the halo (which saved Romain Grosjean’s life after his fiery accident at the Bahrain GP). Thus, such risks call for a complete system that has to be in place for racers who need urgent medical care if they ever run into some on-track trouble with a rival driver, right?

Well, Andrew Benson has commented on the current status of this system. He said, “If an F1 driver is involved in a heavy crash, then there is an alert system in place that means they must report to the medical center for tests and evaluation.” However, after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ recent contact during the Austrian GP, neither of them had to travel to a health facility because they never suffered any major injury.

Safety has always been a concern in Formula 1 ever since the time of Sir Jackie Stewart. After his crash in Spa in 1966, the Briton was one of the first racers to call for practices in the premier class of motorsports to ensure each driver was safe.

Now, safety in F1 has come a long way as the last fatality recorded was Jules Bianchi’s tragic demise at the 2014 Japanese GP. As an entire decade has now passed, do you believe F1 is fully safe for all participants now? Share your thoughts in the comments below.