Boos at F1 Italian GP “won’t spoil my day”

The reigning Formula 1 world champion recovered from a five-place grid drop for an engine change to take his fifth consecutive victory by beating home favourite Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen had been leading the race after Ferrari polesitter Charles Leclerc made a second pitstop to change onto a set of soft tyres. The Red Bull driver, who was running a one-stop strategy on medium tyres, was holding the gap to Leclerc when Daniel Ricciardo stopped his McLaren between the two Lesmo corners with his car stuck in gear.

The car could not be moved back behind the barriers and required a crane to lift it from the roadside.

While the leaders pitted for fresh tyres in anticipation of a restart and a late sprint to the finish, the race remained under safety car conditions to the end.

The outcome was greeted by boos from the Monza crowd, while Verstappen was also booed during his post-race interview in parc ferme conducted by Martin Brundle.

While F1 crowd booing hasn’t been a common theme in 2022, it was prevalent during the intense title fight between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton last year.

Verstappen played down the boos aimed at him and accepted it was from the tifosi who felt Leclerc was denied the chance to fight him for the win at the end when the race finished behind the safety car.

“It happens, everyone speaks to me about it with the booing and stuff but at the end of the day I am here to try and win the race which we’ve done,” Verstappen said.

“Some people of course they cannot appreciate that because they are very passionate fans for a different team. It is what it is.

“It is not going to spoil my day, I am just enjoying the moment.”

Leclerc added he felt F1 fans should stop booing any driver, while the use of flares in the grandstands came up again at Monza.

Two flares were thrown on the Zandvoort track during Dutch GP qualifying last weekend, while concerns over track visibility being a safety issue have also been raised.

“I think nobody likes booing and I think it shouldn’t happen. That’s it,” Leclerc said.

“And for the flares, personally I think it is OK when it is used before the formation lap or laps to the grid, but then sometimes during the race it can be a bit confusing for us. It is the way it is, after the chequered flag there was a bit but not too disturbing.”