SAKHIR, Bahrain : Red Bull boss Christian Horner responded on Wednesday to ‘tribalist’ booing at a 10-team Formula One launch in London last week by saying he was more disappointed for world champion Max Verstappen than for himself.
The governing FIA urged fans to show more respect in a statement at the weekend while Verstappen’s father Jos suggested the four-times world champion might not attend such an event in England in future.
Horner said Red Bull had not had any conversation with the FIA after the event and their comments reflected the body’s ongoing campaign to stamp out online abuse.
Comparing the event at the O2 Arena to “launching your away strip in a home fans’ stadium”, Horner said fans would always show more support for their own teams and drivers and accepted sport was polarising.
“I guess the only disappointment that I had with it was that the reception to Max as a four-time world champion was disappointing,” he said.
“If the launches had been in Holland, no doubt the reception would have been somewhat different.”
McLaren boss Zak Brown, whose constructors’ title-winning drivers received plenty of applause on the night, said the fans were just voicing their opinion.
“I’ve never been to a sporting event that’s been quiet, where someone’s not yelling at a football player for missing a goal, or in ice hockey or baseball,” he said.
“Sport brings out passion in fans, and they cheer and they boo. I didn’t hear anything that was other than cheering and booing. I’ve certainly seen a lot worse on social media…
“Everyone has a favourite team, a favourite driver, a less favourite side. I just think that’s sport. I didn’t think there was anything visceral or violent, and you definitely see other sports that have had riots break out.
“That was fans doing what fans do, they kind of voice their opinion on who they are cheering for or not.”
