Max Verstappen brushes off F1 75 booing: “Was there any?”

Max Verstappen has brushed off the barrage of booing that greeted him at F1’s season launch event in London last week.

Red Bull’s four-time world champion and team principal, Christian Horner, received loud jeers from the sold-out crowd at London’s O2 Arena when they were introduced to the stage to reveal the team’s 2025 livery.

Speaking on the second day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Verstappen was asked for his response to the reception he received.

“Was there any booing,” Verstappen replied. “Maybe I’m deaf.

“I don’t really need to talk about it, it’s not worth my time.”

Verstappen has threatened to boycott future events if they take place in the UK, according to his father, Jos. The 27-year-old did not confirm whether his father’s comments were correct.

Asked later whether the F1 launch event should become a regular fixture on the calendar, the Dutchman sarcastically replied: “Yeah it was absolutely fantastic.”

Christian Horner unhappy Max Verstappen was booed

While Horner was seemingly unfazed by the crowd’s reaction to him, the Red Bull boss attacked the treatment his star driver received at the F1 season launch when he addressed the media on the first day of pre-season testing.

"It was a big event. Obviously all the teams put a lot effort into it, which was interesting to see,” Horner said.

"Now of course, launching your car is a bit like launching your away strip in a home fans' stadium. Fans will always back the teams and drivers that they want to. Of course, we've been the protagonists over the years.

"I guess the only disappointment I had with it was that the reception to Max, as a four-time world champion, that was disappointing. But passion in sport is always going to be there. If the launch had been in Holland, no doubt the reception would have been somewhat different.”

F1’s governing body the FIA, which was also booed when its logo was displayed during the show, condemned the booing as “tribalist”.

"Fans are the DNA of the sport," Horner added. "I think the fandom has changed obviously over the last few years as we've been welcoming more and more diverse fans to the sport. Sport is polarising, and competitive sport across any premier sport in the world.

"Fans are passionate, and they support their drivers, predominantly they support their teams. And you can't dictate that. We're delighted to race in such a big audience. You're going to get different reactions depending where you race in the world. That's the same in any elite sport."