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David Coulthard once called Lewis Hamilton’s crash with Max Verstappen in the 2021 British Grand Prix at Silverstone the “most controversial” moment of his career in F1.
Hamilton has been a part of F1’s paddock since he debuted for McLaren in the 2007 season, and Coulthard believes the Briton has been “very clean” all throughout his career. Coulthard can seldom recall many debatable incidents with Hamilton, but the 2021 British GP was one.
The 2021 F1 season saw Hamilton’s rivalry with Verstappen reach its peak as they fought for glory in the drivers’ championship that year. It remains the only time to date that the Briton and Dutchman have fought over the F1 drivers’ championship amid their respective careers.
Verstappen made his debut for Toro Rosso in 2015, before he moved up to Red Bull in 2016. But the Dutchman had to wait until 2021 for Red Bull to provide him with a title-contending car during the final season of a regulatory era that Mercedes and Hamilton had dominated.
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Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 British GP crash with Max Verstappen was his ‘most controversial’ incident
Hamilton had initially tried to avoid rising to Verstappen’s games during the 2021 F1 season, with the then-Mercedes driver happy to avoid contact in Imola and Barcelona. But Hamilton eventually had enough, and he refused to give in to Verstappen as their title fight took hold.
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The 2021 British GP truly marked the start for Hamilton with his changed mindset to racing Verstappen, who had beaten him to win the F1 Sprint at Silverstone that year. Hamilton got aggressive from the start, but his move down Verstappen’s inside into Copse led to contact.
Verstappen did not want to yield to Hamilton’s late move, despite the Briton having most of his Mercedes up the inside of the Red Bull racer into Copse. As a result, Hamilton tagged the rear-right tyre on Verstappen’s car, in what Coulthard calls his “most controversial” incident.
Coulthard noted on The Asa Park Podcast in August 2025: “Lewis has been very clean in his career. There’s no question there has not been much controversy.
“I think the most controversial thing was the contact with Max at Silverstone, because of the nature of the corner, and it wouldn’t be traditionally seen as an overtaking space, and you know all of the analysis where you know the guy on the outside will eventually come and take the space where you are.
“So, look, no one will ever know for sure, but I think that we have to acknowledge Lewis has been very clean in his career.”
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Verstappen had used his trademark approach of letting off the brakes to remain in front into Brooklands, but Hamilton got the better exit from Luffield. However, Verstappen did not give in to Hamilton on his inside at Copse, and the Briton tagged the Dutchman into a rapid spin.
Hamilton was given a 10s time penalty for causing a collision with Verstappen in the 2021 F1 British GP, which he had to serve during a pit stop. Yet the home hero overcame the penalty to still win at Silverstone that year with a 3.871-second margin over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
As a result of his 51G crash, Verstappen had eyesight problems after the 2021 British GP that nearly forced him to retire from the United States Grand Prix – which he won by 1.333s over his title rival – three months later. Verstappen ultimately lifted the 2021 title by eight points.
David Coulthard recalls McLaren sacking Dave Ryan to ‘protect’ Lewis Hamilton in 2009
Coulthard even recalled another moment from earlier in Hamilton’s career, while he was still a McLaren driver, that was also a controversial moment. Back in 2009, Hamilton faced being excluded from that term’s drivers’ championship as he was accused of lying to the stewards.
“I think there was one time in his McLaren career in Malaysia, there was some issue about he told the steward something that turned out not to be the truth,” Coulthard continued. “But it was the team manager Dave Ryan who left his job over that.
“So, I think it was kind of believed that he’d protected Lewis in that scenario, and he stepped away, said it was his idea or something. But I don’t recall fully the details of that.
“But maybe with true greatness, you’re just closer to the limit of everything, and that means that you’re closer to being flawed.”
Hamilton and McLaren were called before the stewards prior to the 2009 Malaysian GP after it emerged that they may have misled the race officials after the previous round in Australia. Hamilton was ultimately disqualified from the 2009 Australian GP as a result of that hearing.
The stewards ruled that Hamilton and McLaren had misled the race officials in Melbourne about the Briton being overtaken by Jarno Trulli under a safety car, for which the Italian had received a 25-second penalty that dropped him from P3 to only P12 at the Briton’s benefit.
Trulli and Toyota were reinstated with P3 in the 2009 Australian GP, while McLaren revealed soon after that Ryan had been relieved of his position as their sporting director owing to his alleged role in Hamilton’s actions. Ryan had worked for McLaren for 35 years before his exit.
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