Max Verstappen shrugs off F1 boo boys who "cannot appreciate" Red Bull dominance

05 September 2023 , 06:00

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Max Verstappen shrugs off F1 boo boys who "cannot appreciate" Red Bull dominance

Max Verstappen lashed out at his critics as he and his Red Bull team threaten to topple every single-season Formula 1 record that isn't already theirs.

Red Bull have won all 14 races so far this season. And Verstappen is responsibly for 12 of those victories himself, Sergio Perez taking the other two in the early weeks of the campaign.

His win at the Italian Grand Prix was his 10th in a record. That's a new F1 record, beating the nine in a row achieved by Sebastian Vettel in 2013, and the streak held by Alberto Ascari across two seasons in the 1950s – which Verstappen had already matched the previous weekend at Zandvoort.

Red Bull have more than double the number of points than any other team and have all-but mathematically sealed the constructors' title. The destiny of the drivers' championship is also obvious, with Verstappen 145 points clear of Perez.

The unfortunate side effect of his brilliance is that, from the neutral fan's perspective, it is fairly obvious who is going to win heading into any given race weekend. This has led some to label the sport "boring", but Verstappen has a response for those who feel that way.

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"They cannot appreciate dominance or just people executing their jobs," he told the Press Association prior to the Monza race. "It is nothing really new in Formula 1, and I cannot do much with those kind of comments.

"Does it bother me? No. It would probably be worse if they were talking about other stuff. I am enjoying what I am doing and I hope I can do it for a while. I don't want it to stop. We have another good opportunity this weekend. I believe I can win every single race."

After Verstappen's 10th consecutive win, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff appeared to dismiss the record that Verstappen had just set. "Those numbers, it is for Wikipedia and nobody reads that anyway," said the Austrian.

But that comment earned a fierce response from 1996 champion Damon Hill, who scolded Wolff for his "churlish and not very gracious" take on the situation. He said: " It's unlike Toto because he's usually very sporting. But he is hurting a bit now.

"They know what it is like to be dominant and they didn't even get on the podium in Monza. They seem to be a bit stymied and can't seem to work out what to do. But who can? It seems like everywhere we go, Red Bull has got the upper hand.

"Max has achieved something no-one else has ever done. Red Bull have won 14 races this year and it is an incredible record, but you can't just put it down to the car. This guy is special. Throughout Max's career, from the moment he arrived in F1, he has done things no-one has done before and he continues to polish off this season."

Daniel Moxon