Full Send: This Is Why Max Verstappen Crashed Into Lewis Hamilton at Monza

Think Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, it doesn’t even matter how good they are because unlike a race car driver, they know when to slow down and when to be aggressive, whereas people who put in fast lap times for a living have basically just one gear (pun intended), and that’s what drives them.

There’s no second place for this type of individual. Coming in second just makes you the first among losers, and while most race car drivers will celebrate podiums, trust me when I tell you they’re absolutely fuming on the inside. This insight was given to me by multiple former rally champions, and besides, it’s also basic human psychology, although the mechanism isn’t necessarily healthy.

Here’s a parallel: you know how Victoria’s Secret bullied its models into thinking they can never be skinny enough? The motorsport industry does something similar to the psyche of a driver by telling him or her that they can never take a break from attacking every corner like it’s their last. Oh, and they also can never be skinny enough.

Point is, once you’re in a situation where you must get past the car in front, you’re going for it as soon as you see an opening because there’s no fourth quarter for you, no 90th minute stoppage time, no extra-inning and certainly no home and away feature.

Racing is just different and in Formula 1 with all the tire regulations, it’s difficult to know if you’ll get a second chance at passing somebody before you start losing grip, so drivers will often decide that there’s no time like the present to "send one" on the inside or outside of a rival.

Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Having to keep your aggressiveness levels elevated at all times. Well, here’s what the late and great Ayrton Senna had to say on the issue: “If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver.” Yeah, these guys are the real deal. Basically fearless. At least when behind the wheel.

So then, considering the mindset of an F1 driver, what exactly happened between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Monza? Let’s break it down.

The two intersected on lap 25 mostly because one of the Red Bull mechanics messed up during Verstappen's pitstop, costing the Dutch driver about 8 seconds and in turn, giving Hamilton the chance to climb in the standings. As fate would have it, the Mercedes driver also had a slow pitstop when he came in for the medium compound tires. Not as slow as Verstappen, but slow enough to put the two drivers on a collision course of sorts.

What happens next is straightforward. Hamilton comes out behind Lando Norris but just ahead of Verstappen, who recognized the opportunity for an overtaking as soon as he saw Hamilton emerge from the pit lane.

Here’s where it gets interesting though. With the two cars basically side by side going into turn one, that’s still anybody’s corner. The Red Bull driver had enough room to go around the outside and simply could not have anticipated what Hamilton would do immediately afterwards. Meanwhile, Lewis allowed Max perhaps a little too much room upon entry, before squeezing him in the middle of the chicane.

At that point, there’s no way Max could have known that he was going to end up riding the curb on the inside of the following turn, which is why he lost control of the car and nearly took Hamilton’s head off – this would have been a properly scary incident had F1 cars not been fitted with the Halo cockpit protection system.

The thing is, there was still time for Max to give up the attempt as it became clear that there wouldn’t be enough room to make the move stick. He didn’t though, and once his Red Bull made contact with that orange section of the kerbs, which is slightly raised, well... it was at that moment Max Verstappen knew that he had “messed up”. There was no way to keep his car from bouncing into Lewis’ Mercedes, despite Verstappen applying maximum lock (or close to maximum) to the steering wheel.

So then, what can we take away from this incident? Ironically, not much, because of everything I already told you about racing drivers. Verstappen was right to go for that gap on the outside of Turn 1, and he was right to gamble regarding the outcome since Lewis chose not to be as aggressive as possible mid-corner. However, it immediately became apparent that there would be no room to pass on the inside and that’s when Max should have backed off.

Thing is, you won’t know whether there’s enough room or not in a situation such as this one until you’ve already committed yourself to the maneuver. There’s literally no chance this is the last time Max Verstappen attacks the outside of a chicane, for all the aforementioned reasons. Also, let’s not forget that himself and Hamilton are currently fighting for the title, so there’s even more pressure to win these one-on-one battles and stay aggressive at all times.

To conclude, here’s another adequate quote, one that works for both superheroes and F1 drivers: “Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon.” (Rorschach, Watchmen)