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Home F1

Verstappen threatens F1 boycott after hostile reception

The hostile reception Max Verstappen received at F1 75 Live in London last week could see him boycott similar events in future.

Mat Coch
Mat Coch
25 Feb 2025
Mat Coch
//
25 Feb 2025
// F1
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Verstappen threatens F1 boycott after hostile reception
The hostile reception Max Verstappen received at F1 75 Live in London last week could see him boycott similar events in future. Image: XPB Images

The hostile reception Max Verstappen received at F1 75 Live in London last week could see him boycott similar events in future. Image: XPB Images

The hostile reception Max Verstappen received at F1 75 Live in London last week could see him boycott similar events in future. Image: XPB Images

Verstappen received a frosty greeting from fans at the all-in season launch, during which he and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner were booed.

Meanwhile, the partisan British crowd cheered wildly for local favourites Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

The reaction prompted a response from the FIA, which issued a statement deploring the behaviour of the crowd.

While not the first time Verstappen has been the subject of jeers, his father Jos has suggested it may well see the four-time world champion opt out of subsequent events.

“Max has no appetite for that, to be booed like that in front of 25,000 people,” Verstappen told RaceXpress.

“He also says: ‘If this is in England next year, they definitely won’t see me.’

“I couldn’t agree more with him.

“You’re there to promote the sport and showcase the new colour schemes of the cars, but when they go on a rampage like that, the question is: what are you there to do?

“He has to get ready to go there anyway, but then you get booed like that…

“I think they should take a hard look at that because that doesn’t belong in this sport.”

Verstappen’s views are understood to be shared by those within Red Bull; while some negativity was expected given its driver won titles over two British drivers in recent years it was not anticipating the scale of the reaction it received.

Red Bull’s launch saw a video celebrating car culture play before Verstappen and team-mate Liam Lawson emerged onstage.

They entered to the sound of Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones, a favourite of the late Red Bull patriarch Dietrich Mateschitz and a track played in the Red Bull garage after every win.

It’s understood an earlier plan was for the moment to be used to celebrate Verstappen’s fourth world title.

Horner then fronted the crowd, flanked by Verstappen and Lawson, where he was greeted with a wall of hostility.

The crowd reaction was arguably the only low point of an otherwise engaging event that laid the foundation for subsequent season launches.

“In itself, I thought [the launch event] was a reasonable setup, only I thought it was shameful what happened there with Red Bull Racing,” Verstappen noted.

“That Christian Horner was booed like that and Max was booed too,” he added.

“You do it for Formula 1, you are there to promote the sport and then you are booed by the public.

“I don’t think that’s acceptable.

“I get it because Max is the only one who fires up those Englishmen and says exactly where it’s at.

“But I don’t think this is acceptable. It really is a disappointment what happened there.”

While the F1 75 Launch event was widely considered a success, certainly if F1’s own live viewing numbers are any measure, it’s uncertain whether it will return next season.

Stable regulations for 2025 meant a fleet of display cars was available, and there was less time pressure on teams given there is only three days of testing.

For 2026, sweeping new technical regulations will be introduced rendering the current display cars obsolete.

That couples with a sharp increase in pre-season testing next season, reducing the time available for teams to participate in such a lavish opening.

As such, any event for next season would almost certainly have taken on a different format.



Tags: christian hornerfiamax verstappenred bull
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