Lewis Hamilton credited the Mexican crowd for their enthusiasm and the carnival atmosphere they create on race weekends, but has also addressed the fans that chose to boo him over the course of the weekend.
The seven-time world champion received a mixed welcome at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigues, with some sections of fans choosing to boo the Brit whenever he was spotted.
Speaking after the race the 37-year-old admitted that the boos did get to him a little bit, despite the majority of the fans creating an amazing atmosphere for the race.
“This has been an amazing crowd, but definitely a bit awkward this time around,” he said.
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“Boos all day, but nonetheless I have so much love for Mexico and the people here – and what a great race event they put on this weekend.”
It is most likely that the boos were directed at Hamilton because he was a main competitor for a podium position for fan favourite Sergio Perez, with fans turning out in their masses to will the Mexican driver on for success in the race.
The Brit has experienced similar treatment this season at Zandvoort, when in a similar scenario the Dutch fans favour Max Verstappen so choose to boo his biggest rival.
This has become an unwanted trend across the sport in recent years, with fans choosing to jeer and boo drivers that rival who they support, rather than showing them respect.
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Toto Wolff has recently condemned fans that boo at race weekends, saying that it is not welcome in Formula 1 after Red Bull drivers Verstappen and Perez were met by shouts of cheat and a wave of boos from a small section of supporters in Austin last week.
Hamilton finished second in the race, with Perez behind him in third which was not to the approval of the home fans who had begun to jeer the Brit as they parked up in the stadium section of the track at the end of the race, before Perez himself stepped in to wag a finger of distaste to his crowd, pleading them to stop booing the Mercedes driver.
Many in the sport hoped that this season would see less hostility from fans, with a much less controversial title race unfolding compared to the friction caused from the Hamilton – Verstappen battle.
However, no improvement has been seen, forcing teams to address incidents specifically in a bid to eradicate this unacceptable behaviour.