Max Verstappen isn’t the first world champion to crash into the wall at his home Formula 1 race: Formula 1 history is full of such examples
The numerous fans dressed in orange in the stands certainly had other things on their minds than seeing their local hero, Max Verstappen, crash on the very first lap. Ironically, at what is for now the last Formula 1 race in Zandvoort, the day was over early for the Red Bull driver.
Rain before the race had made the start a difficult affair. Although it had stopped before the start, leaving clear slick conditions, some sections were still damp, so the drivers had to be careful at the beginning.
However, Verstappen took too much of a risk in the final steep curve; according to his own account, he hit the gas too early and lost control of his RB22. The car suddenly veered sharply to the left and slammed into the wall before Verstappen skidded across the track and came to a stop on the other side—without, however, being hit by another driver.
Crashes at home races are, of course, always particularly bitter, but Verstappen isn’t the only world champion to whom this mishap has happened.
German fans likely still remember Hockenheim 2018 well, when Sebastian Vettel let the world championship slip through his fingers. Leading the race, the then-Ferrari driver skidded straight into the barrier at Sachs Curve and got stuck in the gravel trap.
Instead, Lewis Hamilton won, taking the championship lead from the German in the process and ultimately becoming world champion—Vettel’s dream of a title in red would never come true again in his career.
But even Michael Schumacher wasn’t always lucky at his home race. A year after being rammed by Giancarlo Fisichella in Turn 1 at the Hockenheimring, Luciano Burti crashed into the rear of his car in 2001 and rolled over. Prior to that, Schumacher had gotten off to a slow start due to a transmission problem.
And four years earlier, it was his brother Ralf’s car, of all things, that was lifted off the track at the Nürburgring and landed on top of the Ferrari.