Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton respond after Max Verstappen booed by Spanish GP crowd

Max Verstappen claimed his 51st victory in the last 76 races in Barcelona

Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton have responded after Max Verstappen was booed following his Spanish Grand Prix victory, with the Mercedes driver saying “you can’t fault” the reigning F1 World Champion.

Three-time World Champion Verstappen claimed his seventh victory of the F1 2024 season in Barcelona, seeing off the threat of polesitter Norris to extend his lead in the Drivers’ standings to 69 points.

Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton react after Max Verstappen booed

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

The Red Bull driver has now won 51 of the last 76 races stretching back to his maiden title-winning season in 2021, having established himself as the dominant force of modern F1.

Verstappen’s astronomical success over recent years has seen him become a polarising figure among fans, with the Dutchman booed by spectators in the aftermath of his victory.

Appearing in the post-race press conference in Spain, Norris argued that there is a “fine line” between respect and disrespect – but claimed “people are not going to like” Verstappen’s recent dominance making F1 “less exciting.”

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Asked if the public have a lack of appreciation for Verstappen’s achievements, Norris told media including PlanetF1.com: “No.

“It’s difficult to say, I think. It’s never a nice thing, honestly.

“People are always going to boo, I think, no matter what. You have it in every sport, you support people and you don’t support other people. I think it’s happened in sport for years and years and years.

“And Max is winning every race, so people are not going to like that and it definitely makes the sport less exciting, but that’s just because he’s doing a good job.

“There’s a fine line. I think everyone within the sport appreciates it and respects it – you have to and I think everyone does, but people who don’t know the most about motorsport are probably not going to be able to appreciate as much because they don’t know what really goes into it and what it takes to be in that position and do what he’s doing.

“You’re always going to have boos is my thing and I think there’s a level of disrespect and respect. Any version of disrespect, I don’t think that’s OK.

“I’m trying to not dig a hole for myself here. I just think…whatever.

“I would say no, I think people appreciate what Max has done. I think people maybe should appreciate more, but every driver is going to get boos at some point.”

Hamilton, who was dethroned by Verstappen in highly controversial circumstances at the end of a hard-fought 2021 season, added that Verstappen cannot be faulted having done a “fantastic job” and delivered at “every [race] weekend” over recent years.

He said: “Honestly, I’m not really on social media or reading the news a lot.

“I’m not tapped into that to know exactly, but on the race weekends he always has a huge crowd always, so he’s always got amazing support.

“And at the end of the day, he does a fantastic job. Every weekend he delivers.

“He’s got a great team and obviously a great car, but you can’t fault him.”

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