Even Amidst Boos Because of Lewis Hamilton, Silverstone Feels Like Home to Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has a huge fan following. However, when it comes to Silverstone, he is out of favors from fans there. Since 2021, he has been a victim of major booing from fans during the British Grand Prix, majorly because he is seen as a rival of Lewis Hamilton, with whom he still shares an intense rivalry. Despite that, Verstappen doesn’t hold any grudges against the home of racing and rather finds a connection.

Milton Keynes resides at the headquarters of Red Bull. And Verstappen is their star driver. Thus, when needed, which is a lot, the 25-year-old visits the factory and contributes to the development.

So, while fans in Britain don’t like him since his rivalry with Hamilton soared due to the tense competition in 2021, he thinks that it’s his home.

Max Verstappen believes Silverstone is his home race

With Silverstone being one of the rare tracks without Verstappen fans, he was asked about his opinion of it. And the Dutchman gave a surprising answer.

“I don’t know if the public will be against me,” he said during the press conference. “I actually see this race as a home race for us. In any case, I spend much time in Milton Keynes.”

While Verstappen has dominated most of the tracks under Red Bull’s reign, Silverstone is one track he has never managed to ace. Last year, Carlos Sainz secured his maiden career win at Silverstone. In fact, it would be surprising to know that Verstappen has never won a British Grand Prix.

Though that doesn’t mean he has never won at Silverstone. He won the one-off 7oth Anniversary Grand Prix but has yet to win the main race held annually in Britain. So, that is likely to be checked off this weekend.

Red Bull favorites, despite the raised challenge

So far in the season, Red Bull is undefeated. They have secured all the Grand Prix wins, and coming into Silverstone, they will likely continue the streak. However, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and even McLaren are coming to the track this weekend with promising upgrades.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was even ready to wager that Mercedes could get a win at Silverstone this year. However, all the relevant talking happens on the track, and so far, Verstappen is likely to have yet another seamless journey to a win.

But any other team winning this weekend would be a good boost for fans, as Verstappen’s regular wins are not helping the sport’s popularity. So, it could be an exciting win ahead.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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