When Lewis Hamilton came in second to Max Verstappen at the just-ended Mexico Grand Prix, he acknowledged that being jeered by some fans had an impact on him.
The Englishman saluted the large crowd at the sold-out capacity for bringing a carnival-like atmosphere to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigues before expressing how “awkward” he had been treated.
“This has been an amazing crowd, but definitely a bit awkward this time around,” the seven-time World Champion stated during the post-race interviews.
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He added: “Boos all day, but nonetheless, I have so much love for Mexico and for the people here—and what a great race event they put on this weekend.”
This incident in Mexico City reflected a pattern of certain fan behaviour at other F1 events in recent times after a similar outpour of jeers was directed towards Max Verstappen at the last weekend’s main event in Austin.
Hamilton was looking to extend his streak of collecting at least one victory each season since his debut in 2007 by winning for the first time this season and extending it by taking full advantage of the track conditions because they were the most favourable for his car.
Before pitting to change from medium compound tyres to “hards,” he claimed to have been near Verstappen during the opening stages of the race.
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He said: “But I think the Red Bulls just clearly too fast today and ultimately they had the better tyre strategy,”
“I’m not sure it was the right tyre at the end. I thought we should have started on the soft, but obviously, we had the opposite tyre.
“It was okay in the first stint, but that hard tyre was just the opposite. Congratulations to Max. It’s great to be here and to separate the two Red Bulls.”
“Mega job everyone. Great job with the pit stop and thank you for continuing to push. They were just too quick today, but let’s keep pushing. We’re getting closer. ” He said to the team over the radio with apparent enthusiasm.
Hamilton stated earlier this week that negotiations on a new multi-year contract, which would keep him competing in F1 with Mercedes well into his 40s, are about to begin. In January, he will turn 38.
