Max Verstappen has called for fans to have more respect after he and Sir Lewis Hamilton both received hostile treatment in the last two races.
Verstappen and Hamilton were involved in a massive title battle in 2021 that was filled with controversy and tension, and it sparked an intense rivalry between their respective sets of fans.
Certain fans at the British Grand Prix cheered when Verstappen crashed last year, before the Dutchman was booed in Silverstone this season too.
Hamilton was the subject of boos last year in Zandvoort, and the fans in Austria last weekend cheered his crash in qualifying, reportedly hurling racist abuse at him too.
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The Dutchman sees this as highly unsporting, and called for it to stop, as Formula 1 should be setting a better example of how fans should behave.
“Basically, I think it’s a shame that the fans react like football fans, who always boo the opponent,” Verstappen told Sport1.
“In the Netherlands they whistle Lewis, in England they do it to me. I think it’s a shame because we often have extremely tough, sporting fights; they’re of a high quality.”
Verstappen famously supports PSV, but he affirms that, even if they lose to Ajax, he takes pleasure out of watching two magnificent sides battle it out.
“You also have to respect your opponent. I’m a PSV Eindhoven fan, but when I watch a big game, I enjoy it whether my team wins or loses,” he affirmed.
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“It would be nice if the fans behaved that way in our sport.”
As for the 24-year-old’s title battle this year with Charles Leclerc, he believes there is a much healthier relationship between them than he had with Hamilton due to the length of time they have been racing one another.
“How much you respect the other person influences,” added Verstappen.
“As I have said many times, I have known Charles for a long time, so you automatically respect yourself more, because, logically, we know each other much better.”
Leclerc took victory in Austria last weekend ahead of Verstappen in second and Hamilton in P3.