The 2021 British Grand Prix was a spectacle that was hounded by controversy in the opening stages when Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided and resulting in a very premature ending for the flying Dutchman.

The opening lap was very entertaining to watch. It reminded me of two fighters in prime form having a short all-out spar. From reviewing the footage, Hamilton was on the inside heading into Copse and Max on the outside. Max was ahead but the car was twitching around the corner, he was making adjustments and trying to discover grip. Hamilton had the steering at one angle throughout the duration of the corner, however, his narrow approach into the corner meant that he would understeer.

This would culminate in a unfortunate racing incident between two competitive drivers. Max will feel hard done by that and Mr Horner was fuming at his retirement.

The race was subsequently red flagged, and Hamilton would be relieved at that because he actually had a cracked rim from the incident. This meant he would have retired earlier if the race wasn’t suspended. Hamilton was handed a 10 second stop-and-go penalty.

What ensued afterwards was entertainment straight out of a sports drama from the 80s. Leclerc had engine issues while Hamilton was on his heels.

Eventually on the 50th lap, Hamilton passed Leclerc at Copse in the same way as the earlier collision, and went on to win the race.

Okay so the FIA are eager to hand down punishments. And at times, it appears that the stewards are influenced by the teams. Whether one or the other is being favoured, I don’t know, but they listen to both sides before making a decision. Now this is very interesting because I’d like to compare this to other sports. They have referees, and the referees have absolute power over the teams. Regardless of what the players feel is just throughout the game, the referee makes the final decision, without the input from any team.

Naturally Max Verstappen and Christian Horner were very upset and have been publicly expressing their frustrations. I fully understand their dismay, it’s an unfortunate incident and thankfully Max is doing well.

Lewis was subject to racial discrimination after the race (and throughout his career of course) which is an unfortunate and sour-ish ending to his home race. He should be celebrated with open arms. We are witnessing someone do amazing things that is very rare.

I think this is healthy competition. This is what the sport needs. I also think the stewards should dial down on punishment, and let the sport feel more organic.