The accident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix last season was the trigger for a kind of war between the fans of the Dutch and the British, since they all defended the interests of their respective drivers at all costs.
The outcome of the 2021 season caused the tension to increase, and the touches in Monza and Saudi Arabia did not help either, although the separation between the two world champions in the current campaign seemed to make the gestures from the stands calm down.
However, when Verstappen visited the Silverstone circuit again, Hamilton’s home race, the Englishman’s supporters staged some ugly jeers at the Red Bull driver when he appeared on the broadcast and when he passed nearby. Although the seven-time champion himself tried to defuse the situation, as did Mercedes boss Toto Wolff , the fans did not give the drivers the respect they deserved on their visits to Great Britain and Austria.
Hamilton’s accident in Friday’s qualifying at the Red Bull Ring fueled the fire again, and that is that the ‘orange tide’ that follows Verstappen around the world celebrated the impact as if it were a victory for its driver.
That prompted Formula 1 itself to open an investigation into behavior in the stands, with the Grand Circus explaining that homophobic and racist comments were seen over the weekend in Austria.
“We have been informed that some fans have been subjected to totally unacceptable comments by other attendees of the event,” they said in a statement. “This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. All fans should be treated with respect.”
However, before this happened, Max Verstappen already addressed the issue in an interview with The Guardian , in which he said that anyone who attends a Formula 1 event and behaves like this does not deserve to be considered a fan.
“Those people are not really fans,” said the Dutchman. “They can’t enjoy what’s going on, a bunch of great drivers fighting each other and they can’t appreciate it, it’s a shame.
“How many times can you experience something like this with such an intense rivalry or fights? These people are not lovers of this sport,” said the current world champion with Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton , for his part, wrote a message on his Instagram account when the events occurred: “I am disgusted and disappointed to hear that some fans have racist and homophobic behavior.”
“Attending the Austrian Grand Prix or any GP should never be a source of anxiety and pain for fans,” said the Mercedes driver.
