How 'Mister Crash' captured Monaco's defining moment
Fresh from capturing the Monaco Grand Prix-defining battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, motorsport photographer Hasan Bratic speaks to Motorsport.com about the striking sequence of photos.
Hamilton's struggles to keep the medium tyres alive provided the 2019 Monaco Formula 1 race with a rare nail-biting battle for the lead, which culminated in the chasing Verstappen's last-gasp passing attempt at the Nouvelle Chicane on the third-to-last lap. The two cars made contact as Verstappen tried to edge alongside the Mercedes, but Hamilton remained ahead, and though the reigning champion was forced to take the escape road, the battle was decided in his favour.
Bratic, who was on hand to capture the decisive moment of the duel up close and personal, recalled: “Last year I was in exactly the same corner throughout the Monaco race. Five laps before the end I thought: 'F**k it, I'm going to the podium'. And when I had just left, [Charles] Leclerc crashed there.
“This year I said to myself: 'Whatever happens, I'll stay until the end'. Hamilton and Verstappen, and Vettel and Bottas had been close together for the whole race, so I was hoping for some action. I saw that the tyres of Hamilton were not so good anymore. Luckily Max tried it.
"You play a lot with lenses and shutter speeds when shooting. A few laps earlier I took pictures with a different lens and with a slower shutter speed. If the incident had happened at that moment, the photos would never have been so good. Luckily I had the perfect settings at the right time.”
Scroll through the images below by clicking on the arrows...
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, makes contact with leader Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the closing stages of the race
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
The story of 'Mister Crash'
The Verstappen/Hamilton scrap was the latest of a fair few incidents that Bratic was in the right place at the right time for - this recent streak having earned the snapper a paddock nickname.
He said: “Since last year, my colleagues call me 'Mister Crash'. Last year I had seven or eight crashes on photo. That started at Paul Ricard with the [Marcus] Ericsson crash, in which his car caught fire. After that I was the only one with the pictures of the two Red Bulls in Baku, and I had the best pictures of Ericsson [crashing again] at Monza.
“That's how I got that nickname. Now everyone asks me in which corner I'm going to stand and they follow me.
“Monaco is special. You can't get that close to the cars anywhere. The series of the two crashing Red Bulls in Baku is my best-known series but that was taken from far away. In Monaco, I was standing with my nose on top of it. The whole series is great, I have about 30 pictures that are all sharp and good."
More amazing action photos by Bratic
Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37 crash
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37 crash
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37 crash
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Robert Kubica, Williams crash
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF90 gets out of his crashed car
Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Sutton Images
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF71H walks in after crashing out of the race
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 W09 stops on track and pushes his car
Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37 crashes in FP1 and catches fire
Marcus Ericsson, Alfa Romeo Sauber C37 crash
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB14 and Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14 crash
Photo by: Sutton Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB14 and Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14 crash
Photo by: Sutton Images
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Monaco GP |
| Sub-event | Race |
| Author | Casper Bekking |
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