Verstappen Onboard Camera Footage Released, Mercedes Request Official Incident Review

Sadly, neither the public nor the stewards had access to Verstappen’s onboard footage during the live broadcast – the explanation now being that only one camera angle can be fed live to the network, because of current technology limits, and that during this incident, Verstappen’s Red Bull was only broadcasting with its rear-facing onboard unit.

But now every relevant angle has been downloaded (including the front-facing onboard) and is being made public for everyone to see.

Just as we suspected, Verstappen doesn’t directly steer towards Hamilton. However, the question is whether he intentionally let the car drift wide to force Hamilton off, instead of turning in at a more appropriate time. What we can tell you is that after the footage was released, Mercedes sent out the following statement on social media:

“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team confirmed that we have today requested a Right of Review under Article 14.1.1 of the International Sporting Code, in relation to the Turn 4 incident between Car 44 and Car 33 on lap 48 of the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix, on the basis of new evidence unavailable to the Stewards at the time of their decision.”

They are clearly hoping to have the initial decision of “no further action needed” overturned to the point where Verstappen is either slapped with a time penalty for Brazil, or perhaps a grid drop at the next race in Qatar.

Do you think the Red Bull driver forced his rival off on purpose by turning in as late as possible? Or was he simply struggling with his tires, as he stated following the race?

Note Because of stringent F1 content rules, you can only watch the video on their official YouTube page, so just click 'Watch on YouTube' after the pop-up. Scroll directly to the 7:30 minute mark of the clip to see the Verstappen-Hamilton Turn 4 incident.