F1 Silverstone British Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton upset fans booed Max Verstappen

It’s been a week to forget for F1. Two racism scandals and an ex boss backing Vladimir Putin. Now fans have been called out for relentlessly booing a world champion.

Hamilton was unimpressed that fans booed Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton admitted he felt a ‘little bit gutted’ after qualifying fifth for the British Grand Prix when he also chided his fans for booing world champion Max Verstappen.

The seven-time champion Mercedes driver said he had hoped to fight for a front row start in Sunday’s race, but was unable to find the pace required in the final minutes of a sodden rain-lashed session.

He admitted he was disappointed, but said he felt equally sad to learn that the 27-year-old Dutchman was booed after qualifying second behind maiden pole-sitter Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.

Verstappen beat him to the drivers’ title last year after an acrimonious season, including a high-speed crash at Silverstone where the 37-year-old Briton won after his rival was taken to hospital.

“I think we’re better than that, so I would say we don’t need to do booing,” said Hamilton. “But we’ve such great fans and our sporting fans, they feel emotion up and down.

“I definitely don’t agree with booing. We don’t need to do that. We should be here pushing everybody.

“It doesn’t make a difference when you boo someone. They’ve already made the mistake or whatever it is, but I really do appreciate the support I have here -- and maybe some of them are still feeling the pain from last year so, either way, I appreciate it.”

Hamilton was unimpressed that fans booed Max Verstappen

A crowd of more than 130,000 braved the cold and wet weather for qualifying and many appeared to enjoy Verstappen making a mistake in Q3 that cost him pole position and booed him when he was interviewed in the pit lane after the session.

Verstappen shrugged off the abuse, saying: “It was a bit disappointing because I couldn’t really understand Billy (the post-session interviewer) and it was a bit of a problem.

“But, the rest ... if they want to boo, they can do that. For me it’s not going to change anything. I’m always happy to be here. It’s a great track.

“It’s a great atmosphere in general. Maybe some of them, they don’t like me, but that’s fine. They all have their own opinions, you know?”

Hamilton remained optimistic that he can bid for an unprecedented record ninth win at a single Grand Prix venue.

“It makes it a little harder tomorrow, but we’ve got a good race car and we’ll continue working,” said Hamilton.

“We brought some parts for the car, but it wasn’t necessarily a big upgrade,” he added. “But it was definitely an improvement and we seemed to have closed up a little bit. I think in the dry we wouldn’t have been able to compete for top three or anything like that.

“Fifth is going to be tough, but I’m going to try and work my way forwards. “I’m a little bit gutted, really, because obviously we have such a great crowd here, but I will definitely be aggressive tomorrow -- don’t worry!”

It was not a good session for Daniel Ricciardo however who will start the race in 14th, eight spots behind his teammate Lando Norris.

SAINZ BREAKS THE HOODOO

Carlos Sainz surprised himself when his bold wet-weather lap secured a maiden pole position ahead of his 150th Formula One race start.

The 27-year-old Spaniard outpaced both his Ferrari team-mate qualifying specialist Charles Leclerc and world champion and series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull to secure the prime starting place on the grid.

His best lap of one minute and 40.983 seconds came in the final part of a tense session during which every driver was warmly cheered for their efforts by the rain-lashed spectators.

“Thank you to the whole crowd for cheering me on,” he said during his post-session interview. “Thanks to everyone for staying out there with this rain!

“We Spaniards, we struggle a bit more with this rain, but you can tell you guys are used to it! So, thanks for being there.”

Asked about his performance in the treacherous conditions, Sainz admitted he was surprised to be fastest.

“It was a good lap, but I was struggling a lot with the standing water on the intermediate tyres,” he said.

“There was a lot more standing water on the racing line and it was very easy to get snaps and lose the lap.

Pole position qualifier Carlos Sainz of Spain

“Also, it was more difficult to get temperature into the intermediates in these conditions. In the end, I put together a lap that I thought was nothing special, but I just put it on the board -- and it was pole position which came as a bit of a surprise!”

Sainz, son of two-time world rally drivers’ champion Carlos Sainz Sr., said he felt confident of converting his first pole into a maiden victory on Sunday.

“I think so,” he said with a broad smile.

“The pace has been there all weekend, except for FP3 where we had some issues that we think we corrected for ‘quali’, but if I base myself on my FP2 pace, then we should be in a good position to hold on to it.

“I’m sure Max and Charles (Leclerc) will put a lot of pressure on, but I will try my best of course.” Later, he added: “Leading a formation lap will feel great in a Ferrari, I guess, and the first time I will do it.

Originally published as F1 Silverstone British Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton upset fans booed Max Verstappen