Formula One standings leader Max Verstappen was taken to hospital after suffering a shocking high-speed crash with Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix – and fans were condemned for wildly celebrating the terrifying collison.
Fist-clenching supporters could be seen tastelessly cheering from the stands as Red Bull Racing star Verstappen hurtled off the track and smashed into a barrier, leading to concerns for the Belgian-Dutchman's safety in the early stages of the hotly-anticipated race.
Worryingly for his team, the cockpit camera went black and there was a prolonged period of silence before the championship frontrunner was able to recover.
Groaning in what sounded like pain as he came to terms with the frightening conclusion to his challenge for the day, Verstappen could only manage to say the word "f*ck" after his colleagues anxiously checked on his welfare amid the debris.
To add insults to injury, a bitter row broke out online after viewers spotted ticket-holders greeting the horror with the gusto of a win for home favorite Hamilton.
"These c***s in the grandstand celebrating a 300kph crash," raged one. "But Verstappen fans are the villains. I'm f*cking done."
this video says all u need to know about lewis hamilton fans imagine celebrating max verstappen crashing smh pic.twitter.com/6JfkjmvTqD
Grow up, it’s a sport, if I was there I’d be cheering as well.
— Craig Newman ???????????????????????????? (@CraigNewm22) July 18, 2021
Others generously speculated that the cheering could have been a response to Verstappen emerging from his car, while some argued over whether the 23-year-old should have cut in when he did and blamed Hamilton for his perceived poor handling of a corner.
Critics of British fans used the footage to lay into them after a spate of recent incidents during Euro 2020 including booing the taking of the knee for Black Lives Matter and cheering when a young Germany fan was caught crying on camera.
Racially abusing their players, bullying a young german girl, vandalism in the Euro final, booing National anthems and now celebrating Verstappen crash. pic.twitter.com/YsC5nDEvrV
— campioni d'Europa ???????? (@DonMarchisio) July 18, 2021
"Racially abusing their players, bullying a young german girl, vandalism in the Euro final, booing National anthems and now celebrating Verstappen crash," they scorned.
"Wow," reacted Formula E racer Maro Engel. "Glad Max is OK. Had to happen sooner or later.
"In my opinion, both are to blame as Max was super-aggressive in defending, moving and squeezing. Lewis, for his part, seemed to understeer off the apex."
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was furious about a crash that registered at a sufficient impact to red-flag the race while repairs were made, earning Hamilton a ten-second penalty.
— Sam Ward ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? (@Samwise1795) July 18, 2021
“It was 100% Max’s corner,” insisted Horner, adding that Hamilton should take "full blame".
“We could have had a massive accident. Thank god he’s walked away unscathed. Lewis has stuck a wheel up the inside at one of the fastest corners on this world championship.
“He’s driven this circuit for years. You know you don’t do that here. And the result – thank god we haven’t had a driver that’s been seriously injured or worse here today.
"Thank god he walked away. That’s the biggest result we’ll have today. Just relieved to see him – he’s in the medical centre but he’s walked in there on his own. He’s doing a 30-minute precautionary but, hopefully, so far so good.”
FIA bosses later confirmed that Verstappen had been taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
Hamilton, who started the day 33 points behind Verstappen in second, overtook Charles Leclerc late in the race to finish the winner.
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