Written by Caitlyn Gordon, Edited by Sasha Macmillen
Christian Horner has revealed his ‘disappointment’ with the fan reception at the F1 75 event, after both himself and Max Verstappen were subjected to boos during the RB21 livery reveal.
The F1 75 event in London was a landmark event for the sport, with over 15,000 attendees and over 4.2 million watching online. The event saw all ten teams kick start their season with live livery reveals. All teams were given seven minutes of screentime to artistically and creatively showcase what they have been working on over winter.
Red Bull, home of four-time World Champion, Max Verstappen, went antepenultimate, with team principal Christian Horner taking charge and introducing the RB21. At the beginning of his speech, the crowd booed Horner and when Verstappen’s achievements were mentioned, more boos echoed around the O2 Arena. Earlier on in the event, Laura Winter introduced the FIA, giving credit to the governing body for their work over the past 75 years, to which the audience also gave boos.
Ahead of pre-season testing, the team principals gathered in the media conferences, to answer questions. One of the questions Horner faced was about his reaction to the reception he and Verstappen received in London. The 51-year-old expressed his disappointment with the response Verstappen got from the crowd:
“Launching your car is a bit like launching your away strip in a home fans stadium,” he said.
“Fans will always back the teams and drivers they want to. Of course we have been the protagonists over the years. The only disappointment I had with it was the reception to Max as a four-time world champion, that was disappointing.”
“The fans are the DNA of the sport and the fandom has changed over the last few years as we have been welcoming more diverse fans to the sport.”
“Sport is polarising and competitive, any sport in the world fans are passionate – they support their drivers, they support their teams, you can’t dictate that.”
“We are delighted to race with such a big audience, you are going to get different reactions depending on where you race in the world,” he concluded.
The team principals’ verdict
Other key figures were asked the same question about the boos, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown being on the other side of the coin, stating boos are a natural response in sports due to the passion of fans:
“I’ve never been to a sporting event that has been quiet,”
“Sport brings out passion in fans, they cheer and they boo. I didn’t hear anything other than cheering and booing. I have seen a lot worse on social media.”
“Cheering and booing has been part of sport for ever, that’s what fans do, they yell at their TV.”
“I didn’t think there was anything visceral or violent. You see other sports that have had riots break out and it was far from that. It was sport and fans doing what fans do when they voice their opinion.”
Toto Wolff also gave his two cents, stating the boos weren’t ‘really for Max’ and instead insists ‘Christian got those boos’:
“We really enjoyed it. It was the feedback we got. And we need to applaud Formula 1 for what it is.” Wolff said when asked about his thoughts on the event.
“I’m sure this format is going to expand in the next few years, maybe to different places, and that’s exceptional.”
“Now, yes, we were all surprised of the amount of booing that happened, particularly to one individual,”
“There wasn’t any booing, really, for Max,” Wolff stated.
“That coming in was a consequence of what happened before, but that was big and bad and came as a surprise to everyone.”
“I mean, it’s his home turf and still, Christian got these boos, so boos shouldn’t be in the sport. But in my opinion, that wasn’t directed to Max.” When asked a question about the booing, Verstappen joked, “was there any?”
Overall, it’s clear that this episode at the F1 75 event is evidence of the F1 fan base becoming increasingly fraught with division and tribalism.
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