Verstappen was 'lucky' with his crash: 'The impact could have been a lot heavier'

Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll crashed at particularly high speeds during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Both had to deal with a blowout, and according to Damon Hill, Verstappen in particular was very lucky.

36 to 40 laps could be driven on the hard tyre, according to Pirelli, but with less than 36 laps on the clock the left rear tyre of both Stroll and Verstappen burst. Pirelli would point to debris on the track, but it's still causing discontent among drivers, according to former world champion Damon Hill.

Luck for Verstappen

''Certainly, the drivers are concerned and well they might be because the circuit has got some of the highest speeds - sustained high speeds - of any circuit, we go to,'' Hill shares the drivers' concerns to Sky Sports. After the crash of Verstappen the red flag came out and everyone could put a new red set under the car.

So Max was already out of the race at that point, and he was still lucky with his crash, according to Hill. ''Max was lucky because if he goes to the left there's a barrier that goes into the pit wall, if he'd gone there the accident could have been quite a lot more severe. The impact could have been a lot heavier'', concludes the 1996 champion.