Verstappen struggles with vision issues post-2001 accident

Max Verstappen has disclosed that he has been facing "visibility problems" since his major accident at Silverstone in 2021.

During a critical moment in their intense world championship contest, a slight contact from Lewis Hamilton at high speed caused the Red Bull driver to crash into the barriers at Copse.

Now a three-time world champion, Verstappen was briefly hospitalized at the time after enduring a 51G sideways impact, and he now shares: "Since the crash, I've been struggling with visibility problems."

The Dutch driver mentioned on Red Bull's German-language Austrian website that his vision troubles are particularly pronounced on tracks that are bumpy or lined with numerous advertising signs.

"In this race, I wasn't just battling against Lewis, but also against blurry images," Verstappen recalled about his subsequent victory in Austin.

"It was like driving a speedboat at 300kph. I've never said this before, but for a few laps it was so bad that I seriously considered turning the car off," he continued.

"The only thing that helped was concentrating on my breathing while Lewis was breathing down my neck."