“I just focus on my job,” Max Verstappen ‘not worried’ about criticism received from Lewis Hamilton fans
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Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen the 2021 World Champion has stated that he does not focus his energy on the criticism that he receives now and then from rival fan groups and rather focuses on doing what needs to be done on the track.
The fan behavior during Grand Prix events has come to the center stage this year and people up and down the paddock have criticized how ignorant the crowds have become.
While fans have gone overboard with their actions this season, Max Verstappen is not too worried about it as he feels it would be a waste of energy to focus on such things.
Max and Lewis had an insane battle for the F1 Championship last year and it is believed that some of the hostility that the Dutchman has received during the current campaign has stemmed from that.
The 24-year-old was recently asked to give his verdict on the situation and said, “When you are the one fighting their favorite driver, it becomes a bit more intense, because it’s personal.”
“A Lewis fan doesn’t really care about someone who’s finishing P18, but it becomes a little bit more heated when you are the direct rival.”
“That’s fine, but I shouldn’t adapt myself to what a fan likes, because I am me and I’m not going to change because then you’re fake, and if somebody doesn’t like me, that’s fine.”
Max Verstappen believes that everyone has got their own lives to live
Max Verstappen is in supreme form this season and after 13 rounds, has already got at least one of his hands on the coveted F1 Championship. The Dutchman is leading with a buffer of 80 points and at the moment, it seems very unlikely that anyone would be able to dethrone him.
The battle for the 2022 Championship is nowhere as intense as it was last year and despite the placid nature of it, Verstappen has received abuse and the common belief is that it has got a lot to do with last year’s tussle with Lewis Hamilton.
However, the Dutchman has indicated that he is not concerned about people disliking him and states that it does not interfere with his exploits on the track.
While stressing about the same Verstappen said, “Everyone has different personalities, and I’m the same of course. I like people, I dislike people, but that’s life, and you don’t need to live with everyone around you.”
“Everyone has their own life and deals with their own stuff, and that’s how I go about it as well, and I just focus on my job.”
“I love racing and I love winning and of course, you need luck with that as well, with having the right car and the right people around you.”
“I also don’t really think about it too much, I don’t picture myself as a fan of someone else, or another driver and what he thinks about me, because it’s just a bit of wasted energy as well.”
Max Verstappen has blatantly admitted that no matter what the fans do, they can’t really affect his mental psyche and ardently believes that focusing attention on such things only drains the energy that could be put into other important things.
The Dutchman has been prolific behind the wheel of Red Bull’s RB18 this season and some of the credit for it has to go to the way he has managed to fortify his mind and keep the unnecessary noise out of his mental bubble.
Max has grown immensely as a driver in recent years and the way things are going for him there is only one way in which he can go, and that is upwards. He is the reigning Champion in F1 and it will only take a novice who would want to bet against Verstappen winning the World Championship again this year.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)