Despite a public statement by the FIA, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has cast doubt on claims that Max Verstappen was jeered at the recent Formula 1 season launch in London. This dismissal comes after Verstappen’s father, Jos, voiced his son’s potential reluctance to attend future events in England following what he described as “unacceptable” booing directed at Max and Red Bull’s Christian Horner.
The season’s kick-off event saw Verstappen and his Red Bull Team Principal Horner allegedly fall victim to disapproval from the crowd. However, Wolff, who attended the event as part of Mercedes’ representation, contradicted these reports, stating he did not witness any negative response towards Verstappen. Speaking to Sky F1 reporter Craig Slater, Wolff said, “I don’t think that Max was booed.”
Nonetheless, Wolff and Slater both concurred that Horner seemed to be the target of crowd jeers during Red Bull’s car unveiling. This led the FIA to publicly condemn what they termed a “tribalist reaction” towards both Verstappen and Horner. Despite the controversy, the governing body also highlighted both figures’ significant contributions to the sport.
The Mercedes boss, however, was keen to emphasize that such incidents should not overshadow the event’s overall success. Wolff argued that it would be unjust to tarnish the entire event based on one individual’s experience, whether it was deemed right or wrong. He praised the spectators, the car presentations, and the new format set to roll out in future seasons, insisting these were the positive takeaways from the event.
The dynamic between Wolff and Horner has been notoriously tense in recent seasons, with their disagreements often playing out publicly both in the media and in the Netflix series “Drive to Survive”. When asked if he was among those who had booed Horner, Wolff quipped, “No, I wasn’t booing. There was 15,000 people that did that! It wasn’t necessary that I did.”
In the wake of the event, the FIA has publicly denounced the alleged booing of Max Verstappen and Christian Horner, signaling their intent to protect the sport’s integrity and the respect due to its participants.
