There are few angels in the tough world of F1, but Verstappen’s approach stands out. And if early indications are anything to go on, we could be seeing a lot more of his unforgiving, unsentimental side in 2025 as he fights for position in a car that appears to lag behind the leaders.
The most pertinent comparison would be professional football. F1 yearns to take its place as one of the world’s favourite sports, and has made a very good job in recent years of cultivating the type of fandom football inspires so well.
But football stadiums are also intense cauldrons of screaming, shouting, catcalls and more, all fuelled by fanaticism and aimed at the opposition – apart from outright abuse, the players largely shrug it off and move on to the next game. It’s all part of being in the gladiatorial arena. And F1’s champion can’t handle a few boos…
There’s plenty to admire in Verstappen’s single-minded determination to win. But it’s also easy to see why fans might be inclined to boo the world champion, especially at February’s launch in in Britain, birthplace of Norris, Russell and of course Lewis Hamilton whose rivalry with Verstappen in 2021 bitterly split fans — even before the farce of Abu Dhabi.
There’s an argument to say that becoming a Formula 1 world champion should merit a level of respect that would make booing them unimaginable.
But when the drivers are part of an entertainment event, the equation changes: heckling a comedian, groaning when a band plays their least-loved album, or booing a baddie on stage, doesn’t mean the audience doesn’t appreciate talent — they’re simply playing their part in the show.
Verstappen takes defending to the extreme against Lando Norris at last year’s US Grand Prix
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There’s also a different appreciation of what it means to become champion when the drivers are presented as personalities; the teams themselves whip up an almost religious-like fervour among their fans; and the risks are less obvious in much safer cars.
All of which Max Verstappen well knows given his vocal complaints about the F1’s drift from serious sport to entertainment product — a view some readers will sympathise with.
He refused to take part in a series of Drive to Survive in protest at its “fake” storylines and panned the Las Vegas Grand Prix as “99% show and 1% sporting event”.
Verstappen has said little in press conferences ahead of the Australian Grand Prix
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Verstappen said he hoped he was ill ahead of the F1 75 launch so that he’d be able to miss the event, and his lack of enthusiasm for the way that grand prix racing is going is so pronounced that he was the butt of one of host Jack Whitehall’s opening jokes.
So in front of a modern F1 audience, after all the exaggerated villainy, Verstappen shouldn’t be surprised if some decide to boo.
His solution is to boycott future events, but F1 might be better served if he left the histrionics to the theatre.