Max Verstappen "accepts" that he will face booing from some fans at the British Grand Prix this weekend.
But Christian Horner is still puzzled by the frosty reception for the Red Bull star, whose last appearance at Silverstone ended with a huge 51g crash after contact with Lewis Hamilton. It was the moment which really set the 2021 title race alight, culminating in a controversial finish in Abu Dhabi.
With Hamilton the firm favourite of the Silverstone faithful, Verstappen was always likely to face some hostility this weekend. And that happened before the action had even begun, as he faced some jeers while walking the track on Thursday before more boos when appearing at an event hosted by Sky Sports F1 on the home straight.
More is likely to come across the rest of the weekend, and Horner says his driver is unconcerned about that. "It's never nice to hear boos for any driver and it's unusual for a British Grand Prix crowd to do that, because they usually appreciate all drivers," he said.
"But it's something that he accepts. Lewis is their favourite driver here, I've got no issue with that. Next weekend, I know that there's going to be a lot of support. He has massive support wherever we go around the world. So you know, it's one of those things."
Some of the hostility may also be because of Verstappen's response to racist slurs from Nelson Piquet directed at Hamilton. His response was slammed by some, as he said in one interview that he supported the Brit – before defending his girlfriend's father, who he described as a "nice guy" and "not a racist".
Horner leapt to Verstappen's defence and clarified that the Dutchman is firmly behind Hamilton. "Max is absolutely clear that he's fully supportive he stated it in the press conference yesterday," he added. "He's fully supportive of Lewis and, not just Lewis, but just to any form of racism or discrimination in the sport.
"And as Red Bull, we're a young team, we're a very inclusive team. We have a very young following, a very diverse following, and that's very, very important to us. Lewis is going to have huge support here. You know, next weekend, there's going to be another home race for us in Austria. I'm sure the team is going to have huge support with another 30,000 Dutch fans there. So you know, that's sport, isn't it? That's competition."
