Max Verstappen mocks 'jealous of success' haters as he targets Michael Schumacher's enviable record

Max Verstappen claims that his haters are just jealous of his success, and that's why they end up reacting the way they do. During the F1 75 car launch ceremony, the driver was booed by the fans in London and this led to comments from the FIA, calling for respect for the 4x F1 champion.

The hate that has been targeted towards Max Verstappen rose after the Dutch driver's title battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2021. The Red Bull driver's first-ever career championship fight was a gloves-off affair where the driver was not shy to pull off an aggressive move on his rival.

In the end, Max Verstappen did end up winning the title but his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton has seen him on the opposite end of the British fans. He has been booed in the past as well during podium ceremonies and in races.

Last season as well, Max Verstappen said that he didn't really care if people booed because at the end of the day, he was going home with the trophy. Talking to Guardian, however, the driver took a dig at his haters and said these were the people who were jealous of his success. He said:

"They’re just jealous. Jealous of success. My dream was to get to F1 and be successful. I’ve achieved that and people that can’t appreciate that, they’re jealous. So that’s fine for them. But it’s not correct, because jealousy doesn’t bring you anywhere in life. I don’t do it for the people, I’m not there to please people that don’t appreciate me.”

Max Verstappen talks about 'creating his own success'

Max Verstappen has been one of the very few drivers in F1 history who've had a car capable of winning titles for such a long stretch. It's not often that we see drivers have a 4-year stretch where they have a car capable enough of winning the title.

This season, the driver will be aiming to emulate Michael Schumacher's record run of 5 consecutive titles in F1. When questioned about the success he's achieved, the driver talked about how he's created his own success. He says,

“You create your own success. And I’ve created my own success with very important people around me. Of course, part of that success is with the team. All these people that I’m working with and that are close to me, they value that success. That’s what it’s about. And I am very happy with what I have achieved in this sport. That is the most important thing.”

It will be interesting to see how the driver fares in 2025, as there is going to be intense competition at the front of the grid.