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Lewis Hamilton says he disagrees with British Grand Prix fans booing rival Max Verstappen, saying: “We’re better than that.”
The Dutchman was jeered by some of the crowd as he gave his interview after qualifying second behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at Silverstone.
Hamilton, who was booed by Verstappen’s fans during their title battle last year, said: “I would say we don’t need to do that.
“No boos. We have such great fans. Our sports fans have ups and downs, but I definitely don’t agree with the boos.”
However, Hamilton said he understood the emotions that may have led to boos after the controversial finish to last year’s championship, when Hamilton lost an eighth world title after the race director failed to apply the rules correctly in the final race of the season.
“It doesn’t make any difference when you boo someone,” he said. “They already made the mistake or whatever, but I really appreciate the support I have here. Maybe some of them are feeling the pain here from last year.”
Verstappen said the behavior of the fans was “a bit disappointing” as he could not hear the questions asked by interviewer Billy Monger.
“It was a bit of a problem,” he said. “But the others… if they want to boo, they can. It won’t change anything for me. I’m always happy to be here. It’s a great track, great atmosphere in general. Maybe some of them, they don’t like me, but that’s okay. They all have their own opinions, you know? I do not care.”
And Hamilton’s Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff said: “We shouldn’t see booing in any sport. This is unsportsmanlike.
“We like the support the drivers have here, but if you don’t like the other guys, shut up, that would be a good way. No driver deserves it, whatever happened last year, whatever the race.
“Being booed is offensive and that’s why an emotional sport that’s controversial because you’re a fan and not a fan of one driver or the other, that’s fine – but there’s a certain line we shouldn’t cross.”
The disappointment of the track for Hamilton
For much of the enthralling qualifying session in tricky wet conditions, Hamilton was in contention for fastest lap.
But he dropped to fifth on the grid at the end as a result of a strategic error by the Mercedes team.
He was on a faster lap in the final moments of qualifying but was told to cut it short so he could charge his hybrid system’s battery for the final lap in higher power mode.
But in the meantime the rain fell even more and Hamilton could not improve.
Hamilton said: “In the rain we were fighting for the front row and that was right down to the penultimate lap. We were up there and they asked me to pull out and go for the last lap, but then it rained. Just a bit of a shame.
“I was so hopeful because we have this amazing crowd and all of a sudden I found myself in the fight feeling great.
“I was second by 0.02 seconds and I was like, ‘I can definitely go faster than that.’ And I think I was 0.2 seconds ahead and then they said, ‘Back off and give it another go.'” And the next lap wasn’t that good.”
Nigel Mansell congratulated Sainz
Hopes for a fight back
The end of qualifying was a disappointing moment in a promising weekend for Mercedes after an aerodynamic upgrade appeared to improve the car’s performance.
Hamilton said he would “try to pull off something special” for the race.
But he warned against expecting him to challenge for victory against both Ferrari and Red Bull – Verstappen’s title rival Charles Leclerc is third for Ferrari and Red Bull runner-up Sergio Perez is fourth.
“I think we have a good race car,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know if we can fight for a win. Red bulls are so fast in the dry. Right now they are retreating.
“Because of the high speed, they don’t have any bounce where we have bounce, especially in the corners. That’s where they’re pulling away from me right now.
“The pace of the race was a bit better [in Friday practice]. I think they’re still a little further along, but we’ll see. I’m hoping we’ll be closer to race pace than last race and if we can just hold them off, maybe we’ll be able to go some way. I’ll be aggressive, don’t worry.”
Has Mercedes made progress?
Hamilton and team-mate George Russell were close to the pace all weekend after the introduction of the new Mercedes parts.
But Hamilton said he was not confident the team had actually closed the gap on the front teams, who also introduced developments at Silverstone.
Hamilton said: “We’ve made a step up but we’re on a track where there are medium and high speed corners. We’re not great at low speed cornering and there are a lot less of those here.
“Our car is quite good at high speed. When we were in Barcelona [for the Spanish Grand Prix]we passed quickly [Turns] Three past nine [the fastest on the track].
“There’s a lot of speed here, so naturally we’re a bit closer. But I don’t know if we have closed the gap [to Red Bull and Ferrari]. The upgrade we brought, they brought the same, so personally I don’t think we’ve closed the gap.”
Russell for bouncy cars, Hamilton and Silverstone
Ferrari hopes to beat Verstappen
Leclerc entered the weekend expressing his hope that Ferrari could have four strong races leading into the summer break after a brutal run of events in which a series of problems turned his 46-point championship lead over Verstappen into a 49-point deficit .
Leclerc was also aiming for pole until a spin on his final lap left him third, but team-mate Sainz held off Verstappen. The Ferrari drivers said they would try to use teamwork to beat the Red Bulls.
Leclerc said: “Of course I will be very happy if Carlos wins the race, but I will not hide that I want to win too.
“The most important thing is to finish one or two regardless, and if we can play strategic moves in the cars, I’m sure we will.” I felt confident with the car, so let’s wait and see.”
Sainz added: “We will work as a team as we have done all season and I’m pretty sure between me and Charles we can have a good fight with Max and don’t forget Checo [Perez]. If we keep working like we’ve been working all year, we can do a thing or two.”
Verstappen’s own chance for pole was lost as a result of a late mistake by Leclerc that brought out yellow caution flags and forced the world champion to retire on his final lap.
He said: “It’s as intense all the time, every single qualifying or race, as it was last time [in Canada]. I hope we all have a fun race.”
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