On this day in 2021, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry ignited in a first corner collision in the Emilia Romagna GP.
Max Verstappen secured a dominant victory at the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after a contentious first-corner clash with Lewis Hamilton set the stage for a tumultuous race at Imola.
Despite starting from pole position, Hamilton was forced wide at the first corner as Verstappen capitalized on wet conditions and executed a stellar launch in second gear.
The incident left Hamilton with a damaged front wing endplate, impacting his pace throughout the race.
While Hamilton criticized Verstappen’s aggressive move, race stewards decided not to investigate the incident, allowing Verstappen to race on unscathed.
Mercedes later revealed that the broken endplate cost Hamilton significant lap time, hindering his performance before breaking off entirely.
