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F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham recently criticized the F1 fanbase for spewing hate on Max Verstappen, who is currently dominating the sport and easily beating the entire grid.
When asked about the general dislike for F1 drivers who dominate the sport at the Autosport International event, Pinkham said that it was "ridiculous." She said that fans should feel lucky to be witnessing such a dominant performance by drivers.
“But that’s ridiculous. Because I think what we do in time is we look back and we recognise that we were genuinely lucky to have witnessed that. And Formula 1 is cyclical, people have purple patches, but ultimately, someone else will take over and it will be someone else’s time and actually we’re very lucky. Look back at now Sebastian Vettel’s domination of the sport and then you look at Lewis and now Max.”
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After Natalie Pinkham's comments surfaced on social media platforms, many F1 fans didn't take kindly to it. Many criticized Pinkham and other journalists for being biased toward Max Verstappen. They also said that these comments against the fans were not made when Lewis Hamilton was dominating the grid.
Overall, there was a massive rift in the fanbase as they discussed the Red Bull driver's dominance and how legitimate it was, mainly because of the controversial title decider F1 race at Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Here are some of the reactions from fans:
"These journalists are Max fans, they have zero credibility, the only thing they spew is Red Bull bias," one fan wrote.
"The real F1 fans have no problem with any dominant drivers whoever that might be, as long as that dominance is due to fair and not fraudulent means. 2021 ruined F1 for most F1 fans and caused an awful lot to switch off from the sport," another posted.
Max Verstappen responds to booing and hate from F1 fans
Ever since the infamous 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Max Verstappen has been subjected to a lot of hate from some fans, even more so due to his dominance on the track.
Back in May 2023, he was booed by fans after the Miami GP. However, he simply ignored the noise and enjoyed yet another race win. When he was asked about it by the media, he gave a very stoic reply:
“I think if I would be driving in the back, nobody would be even doing anything in terms of reaction, right? I think it’s normal when you are winning and they don’t like who is winning. So this is something for me, which is absolutely fine as long I stand on the top that’s for me, the most important. I take the trophy home and they go back to their houses and they can have a nice evening.”
Max Verstappen won his third consecutive world championship in 2023, winning 19 out of 22 races and scoring 575 points.
