Why FIA medical car wasn't deployed after Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen's crash

Lewis Hamilton gets hit on the helmet by Max Verstappen's Red Bull — Photo: © LAT Images

Italian Grand Prix

Why FIA medical car wasn't deployed after Hamilton Verstappen crash

Hamilton was left with a sore neck after the incident

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Monday 13 September 2021 11:39

FIA medical car driver Alan van der Merwe has explained why he was not deployed following the collision involving Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

The title rivals clashed at the Italian Grand Prix in dramatic style as Verstappen attempted to overtake Hamilton, who was rejoining the race after a pit stop.

As the gap between Hamilton and the edge of the race track narrowed, Verstappen was propelled onto the Mercedes by the inside sausage kerb, with his right-rear tyre hitting the Briton on the helmet after the halo had taken most of the brunt of the accident.

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Hamilton walked back to the paddock from the Rettifilo and later revealed he was suffering from a sore neck, with the incident raising concern on social media as to why the medical car was not deployed.

Addressing that, Van der Merwe explained on Twitter: "Nothing to suggest our presence was necessary - if Lewis’ radio comms or behaviour on video feed would have hinted at injury, we’d have gone.

"He was clearly trying to drive the car, and Max’s car was not blocking his egress from the cockpit."

Nothing to suggest our presence was necessary - if Lewis’ radio comms or behaviour on video feed would have hinted at injury, we’d have gone. He was clearly trying to drive the car, and Max’s car was not blocking his egress from the cockpit. https://t.co/VSRCu2mRwG
— Alan van der Merwe (@alanvdm) September 12, 2021

Masi - "Driver's choice" to hit sausage kerb

Since first being implemented, sausage kerbs have proved divisive, with fears over driver safety being raised, not least after a frightening airborne crash at the final chicane at Spa-Francorchamps in the 2014 GP3 championship for Konstantin Tereshchenko.

Asked if the dramatic collision between the championship rivals would create a new debate at the FIA over the use of the kerbs, Masi responded: "In that situation, I think the sausage kerb works quite well, as in that particular corner.

"It was the driver's choice. You can drive into the kerb, or you can go to the left of it, which we saw numerous times that that happened.

"Over the course of the weekend, a number of people in similar situations chose to go to the left through those little bumps and rejoin."