- Red Bull driver Max Verstappen says he is not worried about a repeat of booing at Silverstone
- Lewis Hamilton fans booed him last year at the British Grand Prix
- He says that at his speed on the track, he hears nothing and it doesn’t bother him
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen says he is not worried about a repeat of booing at the Silverstone British Grand Prix because he has a lot of British friends.
Verstappen came under heavy booing at the 2022 British Grand Prix mostly from Lewis Hamilton fans. The audience attacked Verstappen, with the Silverstone fans jeering the two-time Formula One world champion.
However, Hamilton maintained that the audience shouldn’t be jeering the Dutchman although the Red Bull driver was unbothered.
The Dutch driver also believes, quite reasonably, that despite his contentious title bout with Hamilton in 2021, he is not universally hated by British fans.
“I have a lot of British friends and people I know, and not everyone wants to boo me, he told Mail Sport.
Red Bull driver at the British Grand Prix. Photo/Sports Illustrated
Hamilton and Verstappen’s clash in 2021 ago brought the 3.66-mile Northamptonshire track to a new competitive level.
Verstappen was rushed to the hospital, while Hamilton celebrated after winning, much to Max and his family’s dismay. That was a bad time for relations, but nothing compared to the folkloric final lap conclusion in Abu Dhabi which denied him his eighth championship title.
Since then, Hamilton hasn’t caught up with Verstappen due to dismally performing Mercedes cars. His W13 which he raced in in 2022 had many design flaws that hurdled performance, so is the new W14 which he is now racing in although it has had several upgrades in the last couple of months.
Still, Verstappen insists that he has a lot of respect for Hamilton and all British F1 fans.
“I have a lot of respect for Lewis. We are both racing drivers and you let the animosity go. Luckily I sit in a car, I have a helmet on and go at 200mph, so it makes no difference,” he adds.
The Dutchman’s tendency to not care about things that are out of his control, such other people’s comments or behaviour, is part of what makes him so endearing. But his present sense of contentment goes beyond this innate propensity.
Max Verstappen. Photo by Planet F1
He currently rules the track and appears destined to do so for some time and he says that he feels like he has won everything there is in F1.
His racing career now feels complete even as it appears that he will win his third consecutive world championship at 25 years old.
Verstappen has accumulated 42 victories in his F1 career, including seven of nine victories this season.
But after winning his first championship in 2021, he asserts that he is not worried about a third championship.
“Once you have won it, winning it again is the same thing. The first is the most important. That was my ambition. Everything after that is a bonus. The hunger may be even greater now, but it is a healthier one. I don’t have numbers of race wins or titles in my mind as targets,” he adds.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login