F1 Pundit brings back 2021 Abu Dhabi fiasco over Max Verstappen’s F1 75 booing

F1 pundit Mark Hughes pinpointed an FIA-related root cause behind Max Verstappen's booing at F1 75 in London.

F1 Pundit brings back 2021 Abu Dhabi fiasco over Max Verstappen’s F1 75 booing

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, 2021 Abu Dhabi GP (Via IMAGO)

Formula 1 held its first-ever season launch in London’s O2 last week. The event divided opinions after Max Verstappen and Red Bull were booed by the fans in attendance. Now, F1 journalist Mark Hughes has pinpointed the root cause behind the incident.

Verstappen was far from happy after being booed by the crowd. So much so, that his father Jos Verstappen revealed that the 27-year-old will never attend another event in England. Meanwhile, FIA issued a statement condemning the ‘tribalist’ behavior of fans.

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Hughes claimed that he agreed with the statement issued by the sports governing body, regarding the behavior of fans. However, he further added that this ‘moronic’ element was trigged in part by the FIA over the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Max Verstappen defeated Lewis Hamilton for the title that race after a controversial decision made by then-Race Director Michael Masi.

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I agree with the FIA on this one actually. But I’d add that the moronic tribalism element was in part triggered by FIA’s RD’s actions AD ‘21.

Mark Hughes wrote on X

Mark Hughes wants FIA to take responsibility over Max Verstappen booing

The sports governing body urged fans to respect Max Verstappen and Red Bull boss Christian Horner following the incident. Mark Hughes asserted that the FIA was also to blame for the booing. As such, the F1 pundit made it clear that it needed take responsibility as well. Verstappen or Red Bull have not directly commented on the incident yet.

Max Verstappen booed at the F1 75 live event (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen booed at the F1 75 live event (via Red Bull)

They [FIA] have to take some responsibility.

Mark Hughes added

Certainly, no driver or team personnel deserves to be booed by a 25,000-strong crowd during an event as big as F1 75. Fans need to treat every person in the paddock with respect. It must be noted that fans had also booed the FIA during the season launch. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if Max Verstappen does speak out in the coming days.