Max Verstappen won't lose any sleep worrying about what the Silverstone crowd think of him at this weekend's British Grand Prix.
The Dutchman is flying this season with seven wins from nine races so far. He's favourite to make it eight from 10 on Sunday, which would also see him become only the fourth Formula 1 driver ever to win six in a row.
Not even Lewis Hamilton has ever managed that – one of the few things the seven-time world champion is yet to achieve.
Given their F1 rivalry, Verstappen is not always the most popular racer among the Silverstone faithful, who adore Hamilton. He has been booed and jeered by many in the stands on his last couple of visits to this track.
Not that he says it bothers him. Verstappen would no doubt prefer to have the backing of the crowd, especially given Red Bull's factory is 20 miles from the circuit, but won't bat an eyelid if more boos are heard.
"I don't know if the crowd is against me," said the Dutchman. "It's not an away game, it's our home Grand Prix as well. I spend a lot of time in Milton Keynes.
"It's an important race for us, we enjoy coming here, and I don't see it as having to prove anything against the crowd or whatever. I'm just here to have a good race and try to win it."
At last year's edition of this race, after Verstappen was booed loudly following qualifying, Hamilton asked the crowd not to show more respect. "I think we're better than that," he said. "They shouldn't do that. Of course, fans feel emotions and some may still feel the pain from last year. But I don't agree."
All Verstappen will care about this weekend is securing that eighth win of the season. He topped the timesheets in both practice sessions on Friday and looks to be in good nick to secure the victory he is almost expected to get.
"I think it was quite a good day for us," he said at the end of the day. I think overall the car has been performing really well so, of course, we're really happy with that. The performance has been pretty strong in both sessions... It's been a strong day again."
