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Scary new footage shows how close Lewis Hamilton came to severe injury in his dramatic crash with Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen's car hits Lewis Hamilton's head during the 2021 Italian Grand Prix
A still image from an onboard video showing the moment Max Verstappen's car hit Lewis Hamilton in the head at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Screenshot/Formula One

  • New footage of a crash involving Lewis Hamilton shows just how close the Brit was to serious harm.
  • Hamilton collided with his title rival Max Verstappen during the Italian Grand Prix.
  • Verstappen's car mounted Hamilton's, with one of its wheels hitting the Brit in the head.
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Dramatic new video footage has revealed how close Lewis Hamilton was to being seriously hurt during his crash with Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix this past week.

The two men fighting for the 2021 World Drivers Championship collided during the 26th lap of Sunday's race and both were forced to retire.

The new footage, posted to Formula One's official Twitter account, was taken by a camera at the the front of Hamilton's car and shows the Red Bull car come down hard on the Mercedes after it flicked up off the curb.

In the footage, shards of Verstappen's car can be seen raining down on Hamilton. The camera then pans as the Red Bull drives over the top of Hamilton's car.

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Later, footage recorded from the same position on Verstappen's car shows the Dutchman angrily removing the steering wheel before placing it on top of the car. 

The video then shows Verstappen hopping out of his car and walking away without checking on Hamilton, a move that saw him labeled immature by racing legend Jackie Stewart, a three-time F1 world champion.

After the crash, Hamilton said he was reminded of his own mortality and the fragility of life by the incident.

"I have been racing a long time and we are taking risks out there all the time and I guess it is only when you experience something like that, that you get that real shock of how you look at life and how fragile we are," he said.

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