Max Verstappen was greeted with a chorus of boos and a brutal chant as he picked up the trophy for winning the United States Grand Prix.
On Sunday, Verstappen came from sixth place to record his 50th Formula 1 victory at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
The Dutchman was dealing with an apparent braking issue and had to hold off a late charge from Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton to seal another race win.
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Hamilton was disqualified after the race due to a technical infringement.
During the podium ceremony, Verstappen was booed as he lifted the winner’s trophy and during the national anthem.
The booing and jeering were also accompanied by chants of ‘Checo! Checo!’.
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‘Checo’ is the nickname of Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, who traditionally has had a big amount of support from the Austin crowd.
Speaking after the race, the now three-time F1 world champion said: “The whole race, I was struggling a lot with the brakes. Around here there are quite a few braking points. I couldn't really have the same feeling as yesterday so that definitely made my race a bit tougher out here today.
“It started already when we started from sixth, but then I immediately started struggling on the brakes. You could see it in the race, then the gap was so close in the end. It took a bit of time to find middle ground with the braking issues.”
Verstappen added: “It was very close at the end and also with the backmarkers, the tyres are already going so it makes it more difficult. It's incredible to win my 50th race here. Very proud, of course, and we will keep on trying to push for more.”
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Next weekend, Verstappen will be braced for more hostility as the Mexico City Grand Prix takes place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton
Marcus Chan