Jos Verstappen slammed British F1 fans after Max Verstappen was booed at the F1-75 event and has vowed his son won’t return if it’s held in the UK again
Max Verstappen’s father has made it clear that his son will not be returning to Britain following the recent F1-75 event.
The 02 in London played host to a first-of-its-kind Formula 1 event on Tuesday. All 10 teams, and all 20 drivers, took to the iconic arena to reveal their new liveries for the 2025 season.
The event, hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, was a big success for the sport, but Verstappen likely wouldn’t agree. The Dutchman is a racing purist and isn’t a fan of the glitz and glam that has been introduced to the motorsport as of late.
When Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, took to the stage to introduce his teams car, the crowd erupted into boos. This also happened when the FIA’s logo was flashed on screen. Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, wasn’t happy with the reaction.
He told RaceXpress: “In itself I thought it was a reasonable set-up, only I thought it was shameful what happened there with Red Bull racing.
“That Christian Horner was booed like that, and Max was booed too. Look, then you do it for Formula 1, you are there to promote the sport and then you are booed by the public. I don’t think that’s acceptable.
“I get it, because Max is the only one who fires up those Englishmen and says exactly how things are. But I don’t think this is acceptable, it’s really a disappointment what happened there.”
Verstappen Jnr isn’t the most liked driver in the sport, but it also isn’t a coincidence that he has been the most successful over the past four years. During his domination where he has broken multiple records, fans were getting bored of him winning.
The British supporters have a unique distaste for Verstappen following his 2021 title-fight with Lewis Hamilton which the Dutchmen controversially won in Abu Dhabi. Jos has rest assured that Max won’t return to the event if it happens again next year.
He continued: “No, Max has no appetite for that, to be booed like that in front of 25,000 people. He also says: ‘If this is in England next year, they definitely won’t see me’.
“You are there to promote the sport and showcase the new colour schemes of the cars, but if they then go on a rampage like this, the question is what are you there to do?
He has to get ready to go there anyway, but then you get booed like that. I think they need to take a hard look at that, because that’s not part of this sport.”