Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was surprised by the actions of some of the fans in the stands during the Austrian GP weekend.
The championship leader has condemned the actions of some Red Bull Ring fans over the weekend, following people’s complaints in the stands.
With the emergence of reports of racist, misogynistic and homophobic abuse by people in the stands, F1 as a sport issued a statement acknowledging the problem; this statement was followed by another from the owners of the Red Bull circuit.
With the Red Bull Ring serving as the home race for both the team and Dutch runner Max Verstappen, many of Austria’s grandstand fans were there to cheer on the reigning champion, adding more power to his words while he criticized those who had acted in this way.
“Of course, it’s not good,” Verstappen told the media after crossing the line to finish second in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“All the things that happened, these things shouldn’t have happened. I’ve read some shocking things, so it’s obviously not okay.
“I shouldn’t even say that. There should be a general understanding that these things shouldn’t happen. A normal human being should think like that and behave like that.”
Verstappen said he suspected alcohol played a role in the behavior and suggested a limit could be set to regulate fans.
“The only thing that can be improved is maybe with security in places, to keep people under control, supervisors,” he said.
“Besides, don’t forget, and that’s not an excuse, but they watch the races and then they party again and have fun, they drink alcohol. Sometimes when you drink alcohol, you can get stupid, I don’t say that as an excuse, but these things can be regulated.
“There’s a certain amount of alcohol, maybe, before it’s time to go to bed, wake up the next morning and be sober because if you start going crazy, you can get stupid.”
pic.twitter.com/P0ddnbPhD9
– Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) July 10, 2022
Sitting next to Verstappen at the post-race press conference, race winner Charles Leclerc said he would urge fans who witness a hooligan-like behavior to report it and make it as public as possible. in order to do it on a larger scale.
“First of all, I think as a community, people who witness any kind of harassment, they should act and, in fact, yes, do something,” he said.
“Of course, as in Formula 1, if we can find these people, we have to take tough action, they should not be allowed to be close to our sport, I think. And then, as Lewis said, as pilots, obviously we have a lot of fans around the world, we should talk about it. And so people obviously listen to us a little bit more and do that kind of thing. “
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was another who offered his views on fan behavior and suggested a “lifetime ban” for those who had behaved this way, while the seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton said he was “upset” by having heard some of the reports.