Mexican GP concern raised for Verstappen as Horner makes 'villain' comment

24 October 2023 , 08:27

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Mexican GP concern raised for Verstappen as Horner makes 'villain' comment

Red Bull chief Christian Horner is expecting Max Verstappen to get booed at the Mexican Grand Prix, following his frosty reception at last week's United States Grand Prix.

Verstappen was loudly booed as he stood on the podium after winning the race, with some fans chanting the name of his teammate Sergio Perez. The Mexican is hugely popular in the US and, with Texas bordering Mexico, his supporters made their voices heard at the Circuit of the Americas.

And Horner is expecting Verstappen will receive a similar reception at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but insisted it is "water off a duck's back" for the three-time F1 world champion. When asked about the booing, Horner replied: "I don't think Max is going to get the warmest reception in Mexico!

"But that's water off a duck's back. One year you are the villain, the next year you are the hero." Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, however, hit out at the fans who booed Verstappen.

"We are in contact with a lot of Mexicans," said Marko. "The majority are very friendly and fair, but there are always some, let's say enthusiastic people, who don't maintain the fair sporting standard.

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"But we have no concerns and are happy to go to Mexico." Verstappen, meanwhile, was unfazed by his reception, telling Dutch media: "In the end, I'm the one who takes the silverware home, so all fine by me!"

Max Verstappen was booed at the United States Grand Prix (Getty Images)

While Verstappen won the race, Perez finished fifth before Lewis Hamilton's disqualification saw him move up to fourth. Reflecting on the race and looking ahead to his home Grand Prix in Mexico, Perez said: "It was quite tough to make progress.

"It was really difficult, especially in the beginning. I was really happy with my second stint [on] the medium [tyre], but then when I went on to the hard, I seemed to struggle a bit and it wasn't as good as I was hoping to have the pace.

"I was hoping to have a lot more pace left. We know we've taken a wrong direction for the weekend with the set-ups that we have to do, so I'm optimistic for Mexico."

Matthew Cooper