Verstappen, who started in pole position, was attacked by Hamilton in the first lap. Hamilton attempted to overtake Verstappen in Turn 1 (Abbey), 3 (Village), and 6 (Brooklands).
Hamilton and Verstappen got their cars on the old pit, before Hamilton went to the inside at Turn 9, also known as Copse.
This corner is a straight-up right hander at 180 mph. However, it rarely sees two cars running side by side. Hamilton’s front left tire clipped Verstappen’s rear right, sending Verstappen into the barriers at high speed.
Verstappen was able to get out of his car using the assistance of marshals. He appeared to be uninjured but winded. Later, he was taken to the hospital for further checks.
Hamilton could be heard telling his engineer on team radio: “He [Verstappen] turned on me, man.”
Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner was angry about the accident and told Channel 4: “Copse has one of the fastest corners, you don’t stick any wheel up the interior, that’s dirty driving.”
Hamilton was given a ten second penalty by the FIA race stewards for causing a collision.
To allow track marshals to assess damage to the barriers, the race was temporarily suspended.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s Ferrari driver, was leading the race at the time of the red flag. Hamilton was in second and Valtteri bottas was third.