FIA issue statement after Max Verstappen and Christian Horner BOOED

The FIA has issued a statement over the booing of Max Verstappen and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner at F1’s season-launch event in London this week.

Formula 1 hosted its inaugural collective season-launch event in London on Tuesday, with all 20 drivers in attendance as the teams unveiled their new liveries for the F1 2025 season.

Verstappen and Horner were booed when they appeared on stage, with the World Champion and team-mate Liam Lawson the only drivers not to address the audience at the O2 Arena – a decision that was made by Red Bull early in the planning process for the event, in a bid to avoid bland and trite comments without substance after a long day of lengthy media commitments.

The FIA has released a statement on the matter, with F1’s governing body “disappointed” by the crowd’s reaction to Red Bull’s key figures.

An FIA spokesperson said: “Great rivalries throughout the history of motorsport have contributed to making it such an exciting experience for fans.

“But what underpins sport at all levels is a culture of respect.

“As such, it was disappointing to hear the crowd’s tribalist reaction to FIA Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner, at the F1 launch in London.

“Max and Christian have both contributed greatly to the sport we love.

“In the season ahead we should not lose sight of that.

“As part of the FIA’s commitment to protect the integrity of the sport, we are leading a coalition tackling online abuse in sport under the banner of our United Against Online Abuse campaign.

“We stand with all of our competitors, officials, volunteers, and fans to unite against this growing threat. We urge the sporting community to consider the impact of their actions both online and offline.”

The FIA’s statement comes after Verstappen’s father, the former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, described the scenes in London as “shameful.”

He told Dutch publication RaceXpress: “In itself, I thought [the event] was a reasonable set-up, only I thought it was shameful what happened there with Red Bull Racing.

“That Christian Horner was booed like that, and Max was booed too.

“You do it for Formula 1, you are there to promote the sport and then you are booed by the public. I don’t think that’s acceptable.

“I get it, because Max is the only one who fires up those Englishmen and says exactly how things are.

“But I don’t think this is acceptable. It’s really a disappointment what happened there.”

Read next: What happened to Maurizio Arrivabene? From Ferrari team boss to a football resignation

Click here to read article