By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) – Formula One’s governing body urged fans to show more respect after ‘tribalist’ booing of four-times champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull boss Christian Horner at a 10-team season launch.
The FIA was also booed by the crowd, whose biggest cheer was reserved for Britain’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, at the event attended by more than 15,000 fans at London’s O2 Arena last Tuesday.
Horner, who has steered Red Bull to six constructors’ world titles and eight drivers’ crowns since 2010, has become a target for some fans for his starring role in the Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive.
The Briton was also in the headlines last year after accusations of inappropriate behaviour, of which he was cleared, were made by a female employee.
Verstappen’s controversial 2021 title win, his first, has also made the Dutch driver a target of Hamilton fans who feel their hero was robbed of an eighth title by the FIA-appointed race director.
“Great rivalries throughout the history of motorsport have contributed to making it such an exciting experience for fans,” an FIA spokesperson said in a statement issued on Saturday.
“But what underpins sport at all levels is a culture of respect.
“As such, it was disappointing to hear the crowd’s tribalist reaction to… Verstappen and his Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner at the F1 launch in London.
“Max and Christian have both contributed greatly to the sport we love. In the season ahead we should not lose sight of that.”
The FIA is leading a coalition tackling online abuse in sport and the spokesperson said the governing body urged the sporting community to consider the impact of their actions online and offline.
The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council is due to hold its first session of the year virtually on Wednesday, also the first day of Formula One’s pre-season testing in Bahrain, and could discuss the matter then.
Verstappen’s father Jos told Dutch media that the booing was unacceptable and his son had no appetite to attend more such events in England.
Hamilton has also experienced booing abroad, as have other British drivers, while Verstappen has been jeered by crowds at Silverstone.
The world champion and new team mate Liam Lawson did not speak on stage at the O2, leaving Horner to address the crowd at the first event of its kind. They did speak to reporters before the event, however.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon)
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