Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen has added his voice to thesituation that is seeing not only the Red Bull driver booed at certaincircuits, but Lewis Hamilton receiving the same treatment at others. At the British Grand Prix, Verstappen was booed by fans whenever he appeared,until Hamilton spoke up about it and told them it was not right to treat any ofthe drivers this way, regardless of who they supported. Less than sevendays later, they are at Red Bull's home race in Austria, which is playing host to the second Sprint race of the 2022 season. When Hamiltoncrashed out of Q3 on Friday afternoon, followed by teammate George Russell shortly afterwards, thecrowd erupted with cheers and booing as the drivers climbed from their stricken Mercedes cars. Footage panned across where fans could be seen celebrating the fact that theBritish duo were out of contention for pole position in the Sprintrace.
Verstappen questions why fans are booing drivers
"Thosepeople are not really F1 fans," Verstappen told The Guardian . "They cannotreally enjoy what is actually happening right now, a lot of great driversactually fighting against each other. But they cannot appreciate that andthat’s a bit of a shame. "How many times do you get to experience stuff likethat? Such an intense rivalry or fights. These people are not lovers of thesport." While Verstappenis not in the middle of an intense battle with Hamilton this season, he hasbeen fighting it out with the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainzfor the past 10 Grand Prix weekends.
Verstappen enjoying 2022 F1 battle with Leclerc
And although the Dutchman has more respect for Leclerc after racing against him in the junior formulas, he doesn't care who he faces, as long as he is the one winning. "I don't mind as long as Icome out on top. That's the most important feeling," he added. "There are a lot of gooddrivers in F1 and when you are battling them it's a lot of fun. It'sall about margins, how much you respect each other on track. "I know Charles fora long period of time, I have raced a lot more against him, so I guess weunderstand each other a bit better."
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