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verstappen after united states grand prix 2023 boos

Verstappen addresses the boos heard when lifting the trophy

22 October 2023 at 22:36

Max Verstappen is not completely satisfied after the United States Grand Prix. The Dutchman may have won the race, but it was by no means flawless. Verstappen also addressed the boos from the fans.

"I think it was a bit harder than expected to be honest. A bit less balance in the car, but also a lot of problems with braking the whole race. That just made it very difficult to be consistent. From yesterday to today we changed the brakes as well, so we have to look carefully to make sure nothing was wrong there," Verstappen told Viaplay after the race.

Why Verstappen doesn't care about the boos

The Dutchman struggled with those brakes and asked how difficult that is, Verstappen stated the following: "When you don't have confidence during braking when you don't know exactly what the car is going to do, it's difficult. I don't have that very often."

Lewis Hamilton came close in the closing stages of the race, but was just a few laps short of launching an attack. "No, but fortunately, you can't extend the race," said Verstappen then with a big grey on his face. "Yes, those hard tyres were just not that good. And that made it a lot harder."

It was a special victory at all for Verstappen. The Red Bull Racing driver took his 50th F1 victory, 15th win this season and also won a sop on the day Dietrich Mateschitz died a year ago. "Before the race we of course had that photo opportunity together with everyone in jeans as well. That makes it extra nice, of course."

And then there was the booing from the fans, who stood during the Dutch national anthem, shouting for their hero: Sergio Perez. Verstappen again conjures a big grin on his face when asked if he finds that annoying: "No. In the end, I'm the one who goes home with the trophy, fine by me."