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FIA has issued a statement in support of Max Verstappen and Christian Horner after the duo was subject to boos from the crowd at the F1 75 car launch event in London. With 2025 being the 75th year of the sport, a major event was organized where all 10 teams would unveil their cars for the season.
During the event, when it was the turn of Red Bull to unveil its car, Horner came on the stage first. As soon as the team principal had the microphone, the crowd started booing vociferously, and Horner was a bit startled at first but then continued with what he was supposed to say.
A few moments later, Verstappen and Liam Lawson came on the stage, and the Dutch driver was also subject to boos from the crowd. Such a thing happening during a racing event is common, as emotions are running high from the fans as well, but it did catch quite a few people off guard when it happened during the launch.
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Max Verstappen's father, as a result, has revealed that the Dutch driver has clarified it that when it comes to any promotional event in England, he would not take part in it. The FIA has also released a statement on the same, claiming that it was disappointing to hear the fans' reaction during the event. The statement reads:
"Great rivalries throughout the history of motorsport have contributed to making it such an exciting experience for fans. But what underpins sport at all levels is a culture of respect. As such, it was disappointing to hear the crowd's tribalist reaction to FIA Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner, at the F1 launch in London."
"Max Verstappen and Christian Horner have both contributed greatly to the sport we love. In the season ahead we should not lose sight of that."
FIA stands with Max Verstappen and Christian Horner
The FIA has been working on a project that has been tracking the online abuse faced by some of its personnel, as well as the drivers and fans. The governing body had recently released the findings of a survey that it had conducted regarding fan abuse where it pointed out how some of the officials were also targeted and led to a hostile environment.
In the statement, the governing body further reaffirmed its support towards all teams and respective personnel as it read:
"As part of the FIA's commitment to protect the integrity of the sport, we are leading a coalition tackling online abuse in sport under the banner of our United Against Online Abuse campaign. We stand with all of our competitors, officials, volunteers, and fans to unite against this growing threat. We urge the sporting community to consider the impact of their actions both online and offline."
It will be interesting to see if there is any further development on this because it would be a drastic step from the FIA if it were to start taking action against the fans for booing the drivers or the teams.
