Max Verstappen is the most dominant driver in F1 currently, driving the fastest car. This makes him the favorite to win ahead of every single race and with fans tired of watching him win, they sometimes resort to booing him. Verstappen, however, insists that he is, in no way bothered by what the fans think about him.
Out of five races so far in 2023, Verstappen has won three, and despite his teammate Sergio Perez’s challenge, the Dutchman is the favorite to win the world championship. As he won the Miami GP on Sunday, Verstappen addressed his thoughts on the fans in the stands booing him, and the negative comments on social media in general.
As reported by Erik Van Haren on Twitter, Verstappen is unfazed by the booing. He simply put it down to the fact that people who watch F1, aren’t pleased when a driver is consistently winning races without giving others a chance. He went on to say that there wouldn’t be any hatred towards him if he was struggling at the back end.
“I’d rather be at the top and take my trophy,” he said. “And they go home and have a nice evening.”
Max Verstappen cruises to victory in Miami
Verstappen started the 2023 Miami GP from P9, which gave his teammate Sergio Perez, who was starting from pole, a great opportunity to take the lead over Verstappen in the championship standings. However, a brilliant strategy from Red Bull ensured that Verstappen would lead the Miami GP by the 20th lap.
Towards the closing stages, Verstappen who was on fresher tyres easily passed Perez to take the lead after pitting a lap earlier. For the next 10 laps, no one got close to him as he cruised towards his third win of the season.
Verstappen’s win in Miami puts him in P1, 14 points ahead of Perez in P2. As things stand, only Verstappen and Perez are involved in the title mix, due to Red Bull’s dominant mechanical package.
Is Verstappen’s dominance boring fans?
Fans don’t like to see boring one sided races, and the reaction has been vastly underwhelming. When Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive world titles, and during Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ era of dominance, fans recognized the greatness on display, but wanted a change.
Verstappen’s title fight with Hamilton in 2021, saw most neutral fans supporting the Dutchman, to end Mercedes’ chain of dominance. The same could be said about the current state of F1, with no team able to match Red Bull’s pace.
Verstappen won both the 2021 and 2022 titles, and currently, is the hot favorite to win his third successive championship. Fans booing the 25-year-old could be a sign of them wanting others to step up, and challenging Verstappen, the way he challenged Hamilton two years ago.
