"Ooh the irony": Fans react to Lewis Hamilton claiming Max Verstappen's behavior in Hungary was not of a world champion

F1 fans reacted to Lewis Hamilton's comments on Max Verstappen's behavior at the 2024 F1 Hungarian GP, saying that it was not of a world champion. This was after Verstappen's use of strong language as a way to express anger against Red Bull during the race.

During the Hungarian GP, the defending world champion was quite angry with his team's strategy. The Dutchman was stuck behind third-placed Lewis Hamilton and could not overtake him throughout the latter stage of the race. Verstappen even crashed into the seven-time world champion while performing a bold overtaking move, which cost him a few places.

During the tussle, Max Verstappen used foul language to express his anger against Red Bull's strategy. This behavior was debated at length in the F1 space long after the Hungarian GP.

Before the upcoming Belgian GP, Lewis Hamilton was asked by the media to comment on Verstappen's behavior in Budapest. The Mercedes star said that the Dutchman's behavior was not that of a world champion and that one has to be a good colleague to everyone on the team.

“You have to be as a team leader, as a team member. Maybe not such a team leader, but more so [you’ve got to be] a teammate with lots of people and you have to act like a world champion,” Hamilton said. (via the Racer)

“Not like it was last weekend!” he added.

Many F1 fans were unimpressed with Lewis Hamilton's comments on Max Verstappen. They discussed how the seven-time world champion himself has complained about Mercedes' performances in the past and expressed his dissatisfaction on the radio.

"Ooh the irony," one fan wrote.

"Says the man who's been non stop complaining on the radio his entire career," another chimed in.

"Same guy was treating Bottas like a dog & was fine with him getting 1 year deal. Never said anything," one criticized.

One fan stated how some Verstappen fans were also embarrassed by how their favorite driver spoke. They added that though Hamilton was correct, his comments were ironic.

Another claimed that Hamilton's comments were fake.

"Even max fans was calling out that max was embarrassing that race.. Lewis is right even if it’s kinda ironic, y’all overreacting," a follower opined.

"Cmon not you posting untrue stuff," another claimed.

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Max Verstappen offers a differing opinion against criticism for the use of foul language at the Hungarian GP

Max Verstappen asked fans to lower the volume during his radio messages and gave his opinion as to why he would not change his way of communicating with his team. Speaking to the media, the Red Bull star added that his open-minded and honest conversation with his team has been proven successful in the past.

"People that don't like my language, don't listen in or change the volume down. I'm very driven to succeed. I've proven that already. I always want to optimize stuff. People can argue that you might not be so vocal on the radio, but that's their opinion," Verstappen said. (via Sky Sports)

"My opinion is that it needs to be said at the time to maybe also try and force that the second bits would have been a bit different. That's how it goes. We are very open-minded. We are very critical of each other as a team, and that's been working for us very well, so I don't expect that to change," he added.

After the Hungarian GP, Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers' championship table with 265 points. He has a 76-point lead over second-placed Lando Norris, who's on 189 points.