Christian Horner has said he was unhappy at the barrage of booing that greeted Max Verstappen when the four-time world champion was introduced at formula one’s F175 launch show in London last week and observed that the make up of F1 fans had “changed” in recent years.
Both Verstappen and his Red Bull team principal Horner were received with jeers from the 16,000-strong crowd at the 02 Arena when they were introduced in what was a lively atmosphere. The sport’s governing body, the FIA, which also received enthusiastic booing when mentioned, issued a statement condemning what it described as a “tribalist reaction” and called for fans to treat all F1 participants with respect.
Related: FIA condemns ‘tribalist’ booing of Verstappen and Horner at launch
Speaking at the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Horner accepted that passion runs high in the sport but felt Verstappen, who took his fourth consecutive title last season, had not deserved such a response.
“Launching your car is a bit like launching your away strip in a home fans stadium,” he said. “Fans will always back the teams and drivers they want to. Of course we have been the protagonists over the years. The only disappointment I had with it was the reception to Max as a four-time world champion, that was disappointing.”
In recent years, particularly since the sport has expanded in popularity, there has been increasingly vituperative interactions between fans of rival teams and rival drivers, notably on social media, which the FIA has made a concerted effort to address with its United Against Online Abuse campaign.
Horner acknowledged the sport was attracting a new and different audience and accepted that with it came a strong competitive element. “The fans are the DNA of the sport and the fandom has changed over the last few years as we have been welcoming more diverse fans to the sport,” he said.
“Sport is polarising and competitive, any sport in the world fans are passionate – they support their drivers, they support their teams, you can’t dictate that. We are delighted to race with such a big audience, you are going to get different reactions depending on where you race in the world.”
McLaren, who were received with a chorus of cheering at F175, roundly beat Red Bull in the constructors’ championship last season and their team principal Zak Brown felt the fans’ reaction was a vital part of the sporting atmosphere and defended them robustly.
“I’ve never been to a sporting event that has been quiet,” he said. “Sport brings out passion in fans, they cheer and they boo. I didn’t hear anything other than cheering and booing. I have seen a lot worse on social media. Cheering and booing has been part of sport for ever, that’s what fans do, they yell at their TV.
“I didn’t think there was anything visceral or violent. You see other sports that have had riots break out and it was far from that. It was sport and fans doing what fans do when they voice their opinion.”
