Max Verstappen asks Mexican fans to behave as Red Bull hire bodyguards

MEXICO CITY – Max Verstappen on Thursday called for more respectful behaviour by Formula One’s new generation of fans as he prepared for the home Grand Prix of Red Bull teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez.

Verstappen was booed and fans chanted “Checo!” at the last race in Texas.

While Verstappen has soared to a third straight title, his teammate has been left behind. The Mexican driver’s future with Red Bull appears under threat following a run of lacklustre form as he prepares to race before his home fans.

Red Bull said on Thursday that Verstappen, team boss Christian Horner and motor sport adviser Helmut Marko would be given bodyguards after concerns about their safety.

Verstappen has won four of the last five Mexican grands prix while the country is still waiting for its first home winner. Perez has so far managed no better than third.

Marko riled Mexicans earlier in September when he blamed Perez’s patchy form on his ethnicity and referred to the driver as South American.

Perez is expected to also have a security guard among his entourage.

But Verstappen said he had received a warm welcome since arriving in Mexico and he wanted it to stay that way.

“I hope not only here, but in general in sport, not just our sport,” he said. “We have gained a lot of new fans in the last few years and maybe they don’t respond and react the same way, but a bit differently.

“I think it’s good to show support for your favourite driver but you should always show respect for the others and especially on the podium and during the anthems.”

The sport has gained exposure in North America with the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive To Survive, which has exposed tensions between the two Red Bull drivers.

Last Sunday, sections of the big crowd at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin booed and jeered when Verstappen was introduced on the podium and during the Dutch anthem.

Perez also appealed to his fans to set an example with good behaviour and played down his perceived rivalry with Verstappen.

“It is very important we give this message, the right message,” he said. “I know the media likes to create rivalry, but we are here in a great sport and we must show an example to younger generations.

“What happens on the track should stay on the track so that we can show an example here to the rest of the world.”

Posters declaring “Racespect” to encourage race fans to be respectful line many of the streets close to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, a message Perez said he supported.

Local organisers also said they are strictly controlling the number of guests in the paddock during the weekend, following chaotic scenes in 2022 when drivers and team members were mobbed and jostled.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton claimed on Thursday

that more cars than his Mercedes and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari were illegal at the United States Grand Prix

and called for a fairer system of post-race checks.

The seven-time world champion

was stripped of second place,

and Leclerc from sixth, for excessive wear to the car’s mandatory under-floor plank in last Sunday’s race.

Both teams accepted their punishment and blamed the sprint format, with only one practice session, and the particularly bumpy track.

Only four of the cars that finished the race were checked for such a breach, however.

The cars of both Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ George Russell, who benefited from their teammates’ exclusion by moving up to third and fifth respectively, were not checked.

“I have heard from different sources that there were many cars that had not been tested and were also illegal,” said Hamilton.

“I have been racing here for 16 years and there have been many other scenarios where some got away with things and others were unlucky to get tested.

“For me, there has to be some kind of better structure in terms of making sure it is fair and even across the board.”

The governing body FIA said in an explanatory note that a number of cars were randomly selected for checks on different areas after the race. AFP, REUTERS