“We are talking about a seven-time world champion”– Dutch GP organizer compares Lewis Hamilton with Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo; asks them to show respect to him in Zandvoort

Tanish Chachra | 12/08/2021
"We are talking about a seven-time world champion"– Dutch GP organizer compares Lewis Hamilton with Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo; asks them to show respect to him in Zandvoort

“We are talking about a seven-time world champion”– Dutch GP organizer asks home fans to show respect to Lewis Hamilton.

The animosity of the orange army (Max Verstappen fans) towards Lewis Hamilton has only increased after the collision between the two drivers in Silverstone.

And in the following races, the Briton has been jeered by Verstappen’s fans, and considering the Dutch GP is Vertsappen’s home race, Hamilton is expected to receive an even more hostile environment.

Foreseeing this, Dutch Grand Prix organizer Jan Lammers asks fans to surprise him by giving an excellent welcome at Zandvoort, which people owe because of his accomplishments.

“Sport must fraternise and we must not get into hooligan situations like with football,” Lammers told nu.nl. “It’s also emotion – you don’t turn an Ajax fan into a Feyenoord fan and vice versa.”

“It’s logical that everyone has their own preferences, but let’s do it in a civilised way in such a way that we surprise Hamilton with our sportsmanship and hospitality.”

“We are talking about a seven-time world champion who can be compared to a Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. You have to give them a big applause in a stadium and not make assumptions on just one incident.”

Expecting a large audience

Meanwhile, Lammers is confident of hosting a large audience at Zandvoort, as the government is set to lift some COVID restrictions for the large audiences.

“We hope and expect that sports events will take place from September 1 as we are used to,” he added. “We are not worried. It is a matter of tackling it and having confidence.”

In 2020, the Dutch Grand Prix pulled out of the calendar due to the COVID-19 concerns and this year, they are set to make a comeback, with fans probably wishing their local boy Verstappen winning the race.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Dutch GP Lewis Hamiton Mercedes

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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