Max Verstappen was jeered after winning the Spanish Grand Prix, to which Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton replied, saying “you can’t fault” the current F1 World Champion.
In Barcelona, the three-time world champion Verstappen won his seventh race of the Formula One 2024 season, holding off polesitter Norris to increase his lead in the Drivers’ Standings to 69 points.
Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris respond to Max Verstappen’s jeers.
Sam Cooper provided additional reporting.
Since his first title-winning season in 2021, the Red Bull driver has now won 51 of the last 76 races, solidifying his status as the dominant force in contemporary Formula One.
Due to his extraordinary success in recent years, Verstappen has drawn criticism from fans; following his victory, fans have been known to jeer the Dutchman.
Speaking at the Spanish race press conference, Norris maintained that there is a “fine line” between decency and disrespect, but he also asserted that Verstappen’s recent dominance in Formula One has made the sport “less exciting” for “people.”
When asked if Verstappen’s accomplishments aren’t appreciated by the general public, Norris responded, “No,” to reporters including PlanetF1.com.
It’s hard to say, in my opinion. To be honest, it’s never a pleasant thing.
People will, in my opinion, always make fun of you. You support people and you don’t support other people in every sport that you participate in. I believe it has occurred in sports for a very long time.
“And Max is winning every race, which is going to upset some people and detract from the excitement of the sport, but that’s only because he’s performing well.
“A thin line exists. While I believe that everyone involved in the sport respects and values it—you have to, I believe—those who are unfamiliar with motorsports may not be able to appreciate it to the same extent because they are unaware of the true costs and the effort required to hold that position and perform the tasks that he is performing.
“My thing is that there’s a certain amount of respect and deference, but you’re always going to have boos. Disrespect in any form is unacceptable in my opinion.
“I am making an effort not to put myself in a bind here. I simply think, whatever.
“No, I would say. I believe that people value what Max has accomplished. Although I believe that people ought to be more appreciative, every driver will eventually face jeers.
After a fiercely competitive 2021 season, Verstappen dethroned Hamilton in highly contentious circumstances. Hamilton went on to say that Verstappen can’t be faulted for his recent “fantastic job” and “every [race] weekend” performances.
“To be honest, I don’t read the news or use social media much,” he said.
“He always draws a sizable crowd on race weekends, so he has incredible support—I’m not tuned into that to be precise.
And in the end, he performs an excellent job. He delivers on the weekends.
You can’t fault him, even though he has a fantastic team and a fantastic car.
