“You’re making something of nothing”- F1 Fans confer upon Max Verstappen’s real popularity after failing to find the Dutchman’s merch at the Amsterdam airport
Follow Us
Max Verstappen's orange army is one of the most passionate f1 fanbases in history
Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in Formula 1 and arguably one of the most talented the sport has ever seen. He holds the record for the youngest driver on the F1 grid when he started his journey as a 17-year-old in Toro Rosso. Over the years the Dutchman has shown immense pace, finally winning the world championship consecutively in 2021 and 2022, ending the 7 seasons long Mercedes dominance in the sport.
Ever since racing in Formula 1, Max has proven himself as being miles ahead of his rivals, as a young and passionate talent. He impressed Red Bull in his debut season and got a call-up to the senior team, mid-season in 2016 and won on his debut for Red Bull in Spain. From then on he has not looked back, after being the only real challenger to the Mercedes in 2019 and 2020, he went on to defeat Lewis Hamilton in one of the most exciting rivalries in the history of F1.
As such the 25-year-old has a dedicated and loyal fanbase known as the “orange army.” Thousands of Dutch fans turn the grandstands into a sea of orange, the color of Max’s home country, The Netherlands. His following in Holland warranted the change of the speed limit signs from 30 to Max’s race number 33 in his hometown. Thus, his fanfare is considered probably the biggest and most passionate for any driver on the current grid.
“Schiphol is not ‘The Netherlands’”- Fans come to the defense of Max Verstappen’s popularity in Holland
However recently, one fan posted their experience on Reddit, where the fan mentions not finding any Max Verstappen merchandise at the Amsterdam airport. The user talked about their surprise in finding football jerseys but no merch of the now two-time F1 world champion, questioning the Dutch’s real popularity in the Netherlands. Dutch users were quick to react, one user talked about the lack of merch being a result of the distribution channels of merchandise rather than the Dutchman’s popularity and said, “likely has more to do with how much teams/F1 controls how their merchandise is distributed vs. A reflection of the popularity of the sport in Holland.”
One user said, “Schiphol [Amsterdam airport] is a weird place. You cannot extrapolate anything you see there to the wider public in the Netherlands.” While another mentioned, “But Schiphol is not ‘The Netherlands’ really and it’s not catering to the Dutch public either.” thus elaborating on how the airport is more catered towards international travellers and cannot be seen as a true picture of the trends or standards of the country/citizens themselves.
Stay Updated!
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)