Every time Max Verstappen has crashed out of a Formula 1 race including 51G Lewis Hamilton shunt

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Max Verstappen has developed a reputation as one of the most aggressive drivers on the Formula 1 grid but it has also led to him crashing out of many Grand Prix.

Verstappen became the youngest driver in Formula 1 history when he entered the sport with Toro Rosso in 2015. He’d be promoted to Red Bull less than 18 months later, as well as winning on his debut for the team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

After an incident-riddled 2017, Verstappen began to assert his dominance over teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian left Red Bull at the end of 2018, and Verstappen has beaten his three teammates since in Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez rather brutally.

In 2021, Verstappen won his first world championship after an epic but bitter battle with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull then stole a march on their competitors at the start of the latest ground effect era in 2022, enabling Verstappen to shatter records across two title-winning campaigns.

But despite racking up the wins, poles, podiums and titles in Formula 1, Verstappen’s race craft still can leave a lot to be desired. When truly pushed to his limits, the Dutchman has regularly overstepped the rules and crashed with his rival.

Hamilton and Verstappen’s title fight in 2021 resulted in a number of crashes or collisions for the Red Bull racer. Lando Norris emerging as a title threat in 2024 with McLaren also saw Verstappen return to crashing in races he would have dominated in previous years.

The 2024 Austrian Grand Prix was the first real flashpoint of Norris and Verstappen’s title fight. With the lead and likely the win on the line, Verstappen drifted across in the braking zone for Turn 3 and picked up a puncture while Norris retired on the spot on Lap 64 of 71.

So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look back at all of Verstappen’s race-ending crashes in Formula 1 to see if his reputation is fair…

All of Max Verstappen’s race-ending crashes including Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo incidents

The table below shows every crash that has led Verstappen to record a Did Not Finish (DNF) in his Formula 1 career to date. There is a mixture of collisions with other drivers, individual errors and pure misfortune scattered across his Grand Prix CV.

The biggest shunt of the Dutchman’s career so far came at the 2021 British Grand Prix when Verstappen tangled with Hamilton at Copse. He spun into the barriers at one of Silverstone’s fastest points and suffered a 51G impact, which forced him to go to the hospital for checks.

Verstappen dealt with vision problems for months after his crash with Hamilton in the 2021 British GP, but still prevailed in the title fight that season.

Hamilton also received a 10-second penalty at Silverstone but it was the Red Bull driver who incurred the stewards’ wrath after Verstappen’s reckless move in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix took both of them out.

There have been two occasions to date where Verstappen has retired after contact with his teammate, including most notably the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Ricciardo locked up after Verstappen moved late and collected the sister Red Bull car as they duelled at Turn 1.

The 2017 Singapore Grand Prix also saw Verstappen’s race end before the first corner after Sebastian Vettel squeezed the Red Bull ace into his Ferrari teammate, Kimi Raikkonen. Vettel got the worst start of the trio from pole position but was unaware of Raikkonen’s position.

His latest race-ending crash came at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, when the Red Bull driver was caught by Kimi Antonelli at Turn 1 on the opening lap. The Mercedes rookie locked his rear tyres heading into the corner, which saw him clip the back of Verstappen’s car, sending the Red Bull spinning.

What Red Bull engineers told Karun Chandhok about Max Verstappen’s radio rants

Verstappen also has a tendency to grow frustrated behind the wheel when he feels the team aren’t matching his standards.

He sounded particularly furious with engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, a race that culminated in another clash with Hamilton (albeit non-terminal this time).

Martin Brundle criticised Verstappen’s radio messages, calling for him to air his grievances in private. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also ordered clear-the-air talks with Verstappen ahead of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.

Verstappen assured Lambiase his comments weren’t personal and that he had no doubts over his commitment. The duo have forged one of the most unique relationships on the F1 grid.

Red Bull welcome Verstappen’s attitude, according to analyst Karun Chandhok, because it ‘drives them all to be better’. They would also point to the remarkable results he’s achieved as vindication.