Christian Horner has recalled the telling sign he saw while watching Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone before his infamous 2021 F1 British Grand Prix crash with Max Verstappen.

The 2021 season finally saw Red Bull return to title contention after seven years lost in the wilderness while Mercedes dominated following the start of the 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid power unit era in 2014. It also saw the start of the bitter rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen.

Hamilton had won six drivers’ titles between 2014 and 2020, with Nico Rosberg able to deny the Briton whilst teammates at Mercedes in 2016. Verstappen posed a very different type of rival in 2021 to what Hamilton had experienced with Rosberg, though, and a feud took over.

Verstappen took advantage of Hamilton’s more cautious approach to on-track battles at the start of 2021, with the Red Bull racer running his rival off the road at Imola and in Barcelona as he knew the Mercedes star would always tend to yield so he avoided sustaining damage.

The 2021 British GP marked a turning point, though, as Hamilton realised that he could not keep yielding to Verstappen otherwise the drivers’ title would go to his new foe. So, having lost the first-ever F1 Sprint to the Dutchman, the Briton was more aggressive when he saw the chance to take the lead of the British GP into Copse on the first lap of his home round.

Lewis Hamilton’s post-Sprint ‘body language’ showed he could not lose the 2021 British Grand Prix to Max Verstappen

Ever aggressive, Verstappen simply lifted off the brakes early and tipped his Red Bull RB16B into Copse, likely hoping that Hamilton would back out. Yet the Dutchman’s defensive move ensured his rear-right tyre made contact with the Briton’s front-left wheel, and he spun out.

Former Red Bull team principal Horner believes Hamilton’s body language after losing the F1 Sprint at Silverstone to Verstappen was a clear sign that the Mercedes driver had realised he needed to change his approach or accept defeat. Mercedes chief Toto Wolff starting to hint at focusing on F1’s 2022 regulations also showed Horner that a sense of defeat was growing.

Recalling Hamilton and Verstappen’s crash in the 2021 British GP for his book, Drive, Horner suggested: “When the top three drivers were driven around the track for the Sprint podium presentation, Lewis’ body language told a story.

“He gazed across the grandstands with a polite nod to the spectators, having been beaten by Max in three of their last four meetings, which couldn’t have felt great.

“Mercedes knew that our car was in a better performance window than theirs and likely to dominate the next day. I’m not sure whether an air of desperation had crept into their garage, but when I heard Toto briefing the press, I knew.

“He was talking about putting everything into next season’s car, which was a sure sign they were close to conceding the title, mentally at least. Everyone at Mercedes understood that something drastic would have to happen to prevent their season from falling apart.

“It happened the next day, when Lewis challenged Max on the entry to the high-speed Copse Corner and sent him hurtling into the barriers during the opening lap.

How has your opinion of Max Verstappen changed over the years?

“The race stewards, while taking a dim view of Lewis’ manoeuvre, hit him with a 10-second penalty, and when Mercedes went on to win, they celebrated in jubilation in front of the fans at Lewis’ home track, not knowing the extent of Max’s injuries.

“Luckily, [Verstappen] only suffered a concussion, but their behaviour left a nasty taste in the mouth, while the lenient 10-second punishment only added to a rising sense of injustice at Red Bull. Whether fairly or not, there was a growing feeling within the team that we attracted greater scrutiny than our rival.”

Verstappen suffered from sight problems after his crash with Hamilton at Silverstone in 2021 as the high-speed nature of their shunt at Copse saw the Dutchman hit the tyre barriers in a 51G impact. It continued to impact Verstappen deep into the season, but he ultimately beat Hamilton and won the 2021 title in controversial circumstances in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

While Hamilton recovered from the 10s penalty he received after being deemed at fault for crashing into Verstappen and won the 2021 British GP, then-FIA race director Michael Masi’s decision to ensure the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP did not finish under the safety car gave the title to the Red Bull racer as he could pick the Mercedes driver off after pitting for tyres.

How Masi influenced the outcome of the 2021 title fight under pressure from Red Bull was the biggest talking point from Hamilton and Verstappen’s only championship battle to date.

Red Bull went on to dominate in the first three years of the ground-effect era as Verstappen became a four-time champion. Mercedes, in contrast, never understood the ground-effect cars and saw Hamilton end his contract one year early to join Ferrari from the 2025 season.