Adrian Newey explains the moment he was ‘incandescent’ with rage at Lewis Hamilton in 2021

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The rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 Formula 1 championship was one of the fiercest in the history of the sport.

A Drivers’ Championship has gone down to the final race of the season on many occasions, but rarely has it been decided on the final lap.

On fresher tyres, Max Verstappen was able to pass Lewis Hamilton to secure his maiden championship and deny the Brit a record eighth title, although the circumstances around how the race in Abu Dhabi ended were controversial, to say the least.

However, it was the final event in a long list of incidents between Verstappen and Hamilton throughout the campaign.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Adrian Newey discussed their battle from Red Bull’s point of view.

Newey was very fair in his assessment as he heads to Aston Martin for the 2025 season onwards.

READ MORE: Lawrence Stroll explains what’s ‘missing’ at Aston Martin to become a top team despite signing Adrian Newey

Verstappen was ‘out of order’ on one occasion according to Newey but was much more upset with a particular incident involving the pair earlier in the season.

It occurred at Silverstone when Verstappen had one of the biggest crashes in his career on the opening lap of the race.

Hamilton misjudged a move that saw the Dutch driver end up in the barriers at high speed and Newey admits that at the time he was incredibly angry with the Mercedes star.

Adrian Newey was ‘incandescent’ with Lewis Hamilton after 2021 Silverstone crash

Talking about the year Verstappen won his first title, Newey said: “That 2021 championship was particularly dirty off the track.

“Some of it to do with bodywork and what we felt Mercedes were up to and let’s say an apparent lack of willingness from the FIA to properly investigate that was frustrating.

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“There was the Silverstone accident between Lewis and Max which I must admit at the time, I was absolutely incandescent with Lewis because I felt it was a deliberate professional foul.

“I think now with the benefit of hindsight and time, then I think they’d been banging wheels all the way around the lap up to that corner.

“Lewis went for an opportunity which he thought was there, misjudged it, and what happened happened.

“We were lucky Max didn’t get badly hurt.”

Verstappen had health issues after British Grand Prix crash with Hamilton

The crash at Copse corner that ended Verstappen’s race was measured at 51G and had a lasting impact on the 26-year-old.

Verstappen admitted he nearly stopped racing later that year because he was having vision problems.

Hamilton and Verstappen clashed in Brazil and Saudi Arabia later on in the season as both drivers battled for every crucial point to try and win the championship.

It’s telling as well that Newey wasn’t happy with the developments Mercedes were making to their car as Hamilton continued to close the gap as the campaign went on.

Both teams went in different directions for 2022 with Newey and Red Bull plotting the correct path making Verstappen’s next two titles much more comfortable.

The next few months will determine whether Red Bull have done enough to earn Verstappen a fourth successive championship.