Every time Max Verstappen has crashed while leading an F1 Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen has had his fair share of controversies and crashes – including from the lead of a Grand Prix – since making the Dutchman’s Formula 1 debut back in 2015.

The most recent of those crashes took place when defending the lead of the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. While Verstappen had a comfortable margin over Lando Norris at first, a slow pit stop put the Red Bull driver’s win under threat at the team’s home race.

In front of a sea of his adoring orange army of Dutch fans, Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel with Norris before contact between the pair at Turn 3 caused both to sustain significant damage to their cars.

While Norris was forced to retire, the Red Bull driver could limp back to the pits and rejoin the race. He ultimately finished in fifth place, even with a 10-second time penalty that was issued by the stewards who felt he was wholly at fault for the move.

It was not the first time that Verstappen has crashed while leading an F1 race, either, and it is likely not the last. So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look at every time Verstappen has crashed from the lead of a Grand Prix…

2018 Brazilian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen trips over a lapped Esteban Ocon

The win was seemingly in the bag for Verstappen as he controlled the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2018. But it all went up in smoke for the Dutchman when Esteban Ocon tried to unlap himself after pitting for new tyres.

Verstappen was totally dominant in Sao Paulo that year after charging up from fifth place on the grid to lead at Interlagos. But his refusal to yield proved to be to Verstappen’s detriment when he had no reason to fight Ocon.

Ocon, while running in P14 for Force India, was considerably faster than Verstappen with his new tyres. So, the Frenchman tried to get back onto the lead lap on Lap 44 of the 71 with Ocon sending his car around the outside at Turn 1 for the overlap through the Senna S.

Yet Verstappen simply turned in on Ocon at T2 as if he could just vanish despite being alongside, causing both to spin.

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

Ocon would receive a 10-second stop-go penalty for the collision, while Lewis Hamilton snuck through to win the 2018 Brazilian GP by 1.469 seconds over Verstappen – who resulted to shoving Ocon in the FIA’s garage after the race in a fit of anger.

2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Max Verstappen suffers a high-speed tyre failure

A frightening crash while leading the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the high-speed Baku City Circuit forced Verstappen to retire on the spot.

The Dutchman picked up debris from an earlier incident on track and his rear-left tyre gave way as he approached the start/finish line – the fastest point on a track where drivers can reach up to 230mph.

Somewhat luckily, Verstappen’s car spun to the right and found the outside barrier, rather than in the direction of the pit lane. But it was another incident that characterised Verstappen’s fierce title battle with Hamilton in 2021.

2021 British Grand Prix – Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collide at Silverstone

Verstappen suffered another high-speed crash from the lead of the race during the opening lap of the 2021 British Grand Prix whilst fighting Hamilton into one of the quickest corners Silverstone offers.

Their fight lasted from the lights going out until contact pitched Verstappen out and saw Hamilton earn a 10-second time penalty.

Verstappen continually defended firmly as Hamilton sought the lead of the Briton’s home race, with the pair engaging at Abbey, through Village, out of The Loop, down the Wellington Straight, into Brooklands and through Luffield.

With Hamilton on the back of Verstappen’s rear wing out of Woodcote, the Mercedes driver positioned for a move to the inside as they approached the highspeed Corpse right-hander.

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

Verstappen was on the outside of the corner and swept in to take the apex when his rear-right tyre collided with Hamilton’s front left and sent him off the track at 200mph.

The 51G impact into the barriers completely destroyed his RB16B, while Verstappen was forced to visit the hospital in the aftermath as a precaution.

Verstappen later revealed that he continued to suffer blurred vision while racing on especially bumpy circuits or tracks with lots of advertising boards for months after his crash at the 2021 British GP.

2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton come to blows

The penultimate round of the 2021 title battle saw Verstappen and Hamilton go head-to-head again on track at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But it was seldom a clean fight as Verstappen and Hamilton regularly rubbed and drew the attention of the race stewards.

Flashpoints even came from the early stages as Hamilton infuriated Verstappen by backing off under the safety car triggered by Mick Schumacher crashing to allow Mercedes to do a double pit stop with Valtteri Bottas.

Red Bull gambled and left Verstappen out as Mercedes stopped Hamilton, right before the red flags were out to suspend the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.

It put the two side-by-side on the grid for the restart and Verstappen was in no mood to yield to Hamilton after a worse start, so jumped over the kerbs after locking up into Turn 1 to force the Briton to concede a place he fairly gained.

Race director Michael Masi offered Red Bull the chance to put Verstappen back behind Hamilton before the following restart after Sergio Perez crashed out. But the Dutchman did not stay behind for long after diving into T1 to go from third to first place.

It was not the end of their fight, though, as Hamilton tried to regain the lead on Lap 37 of 50 only for Verstappen to run deep and retain the lead. Red Bull would oblige Verstappen to ‘strategically’ yield the position to avoid a penalty.

But the Dutchman tried to be too smart and brake-checked the Briton in a bid to steal the DRS, damaging the Mercedes’ front wing before running away. Eventually, Verstappen would yield the spot before Turn 27 to get DRS but waited no time to divebomb into the final corner.

Yet as soon as Verstappen was back in the lead, the stewards issued a five-second time penalty for cutting the corner on L37. The penalty would not affect the result, though, as Hamilton took matters into his own hands on L43 of 50 with an aggressive move into T27.