Five worst moments of Max Verstappen’s F1 career from 51G crash to shoving rival driver

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Max Verstappen has regularly shown he has a very short fuse during the Dutchman’s Formula 1 career, so F1 Oversteer takes a look at his five worst moments on the grid.

Drama has often surrounded Verstappen since he debuted in F1 at the Australian Grand Prix of 2015 driving for Toro Rosso. A series of late defensive moves in braking zones firmly cast a spotlight on his race craft at an early stage and many on-track incidents ensured it stayed.

Verstappen has habitually pushed the limit of what Formula 1 deems to be acceptable when attacking and defending on circuits throughout his career. He has never been one to yield on track if the Dutchman can still see tarmac, but it has repeatedly led to contact with his rivals.

His hot-headed moments over the team radio at Toro Rosso and later Red Bull have also got Verstappen in trouble multiple times. Using inappropriate language has also gotten him into trouble with the sport’s governing body, the FIA, punishing Verstappen for swearing in 2024.

So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look at the worst moments from Verstappen’s F1 career with incidents on and off the circuit since he broke into the pinnacle of motorsport…

Max Verstappen lost a podium after the 2017 United States Grand Prix

FIA race steward Garry Connelly described it as ‘one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to take’ after a post-race penalty demoted Verstappen from the podium at the 2017 United States Grand Prix. A five-second time penalty slipped him from third to fourth place at COTA.

Verstappen only learned of the penalty whilst waiting in the cooldown room with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. But he was speedily marshalled out of the room after the stewards ruled he overtook Kimi Raikkonen outside track limits for P3.

Racing for Red Bull, Verstappen produced a daring dive on the Finn to overtake Raikkonen at Turn 13 – the start of the Circuit of the Americas’ double-apex right-hander near the end of a lap. But Verstappen sent all four wheels over the white line as there was not enough space.

Raikkonen left the apex of T13 clear for Verstappen to attack as the Ferrari pilot took a much wider line. But as the Finn did not anticipate the Dutchman diving down his inside there, he took a natural racing line. Both drivers realised just in time and avoided making any contact.

Former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo instantly saw Verstappen had exceeded track limits to do the move on Raikkonen he needed to finish the 2017 United States GP on the podium in the Finn’s role as a driver steward. It was also quickly clear for his fellow stewards upon review.

READ MORE: The best moments of Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1

“Mika’s extremely quick on seeing what’s going on on a race track,” Connelly told RaceFans. “He said to us immediately, ‘That was a brilliant move by Max but he was off the track by about a metre on the inside of the corner – he left the track to overtake’.

“We went back and looked at the video and it was very, very clear. It was very, very clear within a minute of us looking at that. And my fellow stewards in the room – Radovan Novak, Mika Salo and Dennis Dean – it was a difficult decision because we had to pull Max Verstappen off third place, off the podium and replace him with Kimi Raikkonen.”

Max Verstappen shoved Esteban Ocon at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix

Tensions arose in the FIA garage after the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix when Verstappen angrily confronted Esteban Ocon following a collision in the race. The Dutchman resorted to shoving the Frenchman after hunting Ocon down to vent his frustration as their crash cost him a win.

Verstappen looked set to claim his first victory in Sao Paulo having picked the Red Bull star’s way through from P5 on the grid. But his refusal to yield proved costly on Lap 44 of the 71 when Ocon emerged in Verstappen’s mirrors and running much faster following a pit stop.

Ocon was not in Verstappen’s fight for victory with the Force India driver a lapped car down in P14. But his fresh rubber meant Ocon was much faster than the Dutchman. So, he sought to unlap himself through the Senna S only for Verstappen to turn in on Ocon through Turn 2.

An overlap around the outside out of Turn 1 put Ocon almost entirely alongside Verstappen before T2. Yet the Red Bull racer refused to yield to a lapped car, so turned in like normal as if Ocon would disappear. It ensured both drivers spun and Hamilton regained the race lead.

Verstappen instantly blamed Ocon for the collision over Red Bull’s team radio, branding the Force India driver an ‘idiot’. His mood failed to improve across the remaining laps, either, as pole-sitter Hamilton went on to win the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix by 1.469s to Verstappen.

The stewards also deemed the incident to be Ocon’s fault and slapped him with a 10-second stop-go penalty which meant he finished the race in P14. But having felt that Ocon cost him a likely win, Verstappen angrily confronted the Frenchman in the FIA’s garage after the race.

Verstappen let his emotions get the better of him and repeatedly pushed Ocon to the point the Force India driver fell off the FIA’s scales. It resulted in Verstappen being ordered to do two days of ‘public service’ as the FIA argued he failed to act appropriately as a role model.

Max Verstappen raced with blurred vision after crashing with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 British Grand Prix

The 2021 Formula 1 season saw Red Bull’s Verstappen and Mercedes’ Hamilton engage in a fierce fight over the drivers’ championship that went down to the season finale, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But it was not always a clean affair as the pair regularly made contact on tracks.

Verstappen sent Hamilton a clear message that they were in a brawl with aggressive moves for the lead of the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix. Eventually, Hamilton decided that enough was enough and he would also get the Briton’s elbows out.

A major flashpoint in the two drivers’ rivalry then arose at the British Grand Prix when they collided at Copse on the opening lap. Hamilton got a great slipstream down the Wellington Straight, but had to try a move on the outside at Brooklands as Verstappen held the inside.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Taking a wider line through Luffield then ensured Hamilton got a great run down the old pit straight to shape for a move on Verstappen at Copse. But after flying his Silver Arrow up the Dutchman’s inside, they touched as Verstappen turned in with Hamilton tucked on the kerb.

Hamilton, who drew far enough alongside Verstappen to deserve some space, had no room to react. The ensuing contact between the Briton’s front-left and Dutchman’s rear-right tyre then sent Verstappen crashing out at 180 mph and into the barriers with an impact of 51G.

Verstappen had to go to hospital for checks following the collision, which saw Hamilton get a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. The penalty was not enough to stop him from winning the 2011 British GP, though, as Hamilton recovered to pip Charles Leclerc by 3.871s.

While doctors also initially cleared Verstappen after precautionary checks, he later revealed in July 2024 that the Dutchman raced with blurred vision across the following races. He even nearly quit the 2021 United States Grand Prix as Verstappen’s vision problems got so severe.

“Since my Silverstone crash, I’ve struggled with visibility problems, especially on undulating circuits or those with lots of advertising boards on the side of the track,” Verstappen stated.

“In this race [in Austin], I wasn’t just fighting against Lewis, but also against blurred images. It was like driving a speedboat at 300 kph. I’ve never said this before but it was so bad for a few laps that I seriously considered turning the car off.

“The only thing that helped was to concentrate on my breathing with Lewis breathing down my neck. An important win that I desperately needed in the championship fight.”

Max Verstappen hit out at George Russell after contact in the F1 Sprint at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Hamilton is not the only driver to race for Mercedes whom Verstappen has faced flashpoints with in the Dutchman’s Formula 1 career. The 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix also saw him clash with George Russell, who Verstappen berated after making contact in the F1 Sprint in Baku.

Russell took a huge chunk of Verstappen’s sidepod away and almost forced the Red Bull ace into the wall exiting Turn 2. Whilst fighting over third place at the start of the Sprint, Russell got a great run but he drifted deep into Verstappen’s side after the Dutchman had left space.

Their fight then continued into Turn 3, where Russell again went deep on the inside to force Verstappen to either back out or drive into the wall on the exit. The Red Bull driver only just avoided the Briton’s rear-right tyre with his front wing but would regain P3 after a safety car.

While he did later regain and retain P3 through to the chequered flag, Verstappen’s anger at Russell’s T2 move infuriated him. The Dutchman was repeatedly on Red Bull’s radio fuming about the contact, even at one point querying: “Did he really drive into the side of my car?”

Verstappen’s anger failed to pass after the chequered flag when Russell approached him to say the Mercedes star “didn’t do it on purpose” and that he “had no grip. I just locked up.”

“We all have no grip,” Verstappen replied. “We all need to leave a little bit of space. Next time, expect the same.”

Max Verstappen faced a ‘worst-case’ scenario in the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Despite him winning the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku has rarely been a happy place for Verstappen in his Formula 1 career. A first win on the city streets next to the Caspian Sea fell away in 2021 when his rear-left tyre failed at around 200 mph down the long, main straight.

Verstappen’s late defensive drift on teammate Daniel Ricciardo in the Azerbaijan GP of 2018 also saw the Red Bull pilots collide and retire on the spot. While Red Bull pitting Sergio Perez a lap after Verstappen with the benefit of a virtual safety car saw the Mexican take the lead.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Azerbaijan Grand Prix including Verstappen vs Ricciardo

Yet another frustrating moment then befell Verstappen via his spat with Russell after the F1 Sprint at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP. And returning to Baku in 2024 yielded yet more frustration as Verstappen was left to rue a ‘worst-case scenario’ after finishing the Azerbaijan GP in P5.

While the Dutchman still led the drivers’ standings by a mile, he was sensing pressure from Lando Norris. A frustrating Italian Grand Prix even saw Verstappen describe his car as being a ‘monster’ at Monza after qualifying in P7 and only managing to move to sixth in the race.

Handling issues then again blighted Verstappen in Baku, where his Red Bull RB20 often felt disconnected. Perez even managed to out-qualify Verstappen for the first time in 33 races. Norris also managed to come through from P15 on the grid after his Q1 exit to finish ahead.

So, Verstappen bemoaned after the 2024 Azerbaijan GP: “We just paid the price with the change that we made in qualifying, which made it really difficult to drive.

“The car was jumping around a lot and the wheels were coming off the ground in the low-speed corners and when you don’t have contact with the track, it’s very difficult.

“We thought it would be a good direction to go in but, in the end, it wasn’t… If you look at my race, everything was probably the worst-case scenario. My general balance was off and I was stuck behind Alex [Albon] and Lando. So, yeah, it wasn’t a surprise at all.”

Verstappen started the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in P6 but was never a threat to those in front while Perez fought for the podium. If his Red Bull teammate and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz did not collide on the penultima lap, Verstappen would have even finished the race in P7.