Max Verstappen was told to "stop crying" by angry F1 fans after a petulant outburst during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Having started fourth on the grid, the current world champion notched his first F1 win of the season at the Jeddah Street Circuit, holding off Ferrari's Charles Leclerc following another thrilling duel between the two. The result proved the perfect response from the Red Bull driver after he failed to finish in Bahrain last weekend.
However, Verstappen still found himself chastised by fans after the race after being caught complaining on team radio. After he passed Leclerc in the closing stages, a yellow flag briefly allowed the Monegasque man to close the gap, a notion that angered the Dutchman.
"That's so unfair," he ranted, after an unsuccessful attempt from Leclerc to retake the lead. Indeed, were it not for a collision between two back markers with two laps to go, which brought out further yellow flags that forbid overtaking, the Ferrari men would have been well placed to try again.
Verstappen's reaction would inevitably have been perceived as ironic by many, given the dubious manner in which he was crowned 2021 world champion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season. And sure enough, there was little in the way of sympathy flying around on social media.
@beththeobald1 tweeted: "Verstappen stop crying on the radio you spoilt child." @skybluesnowman tagged the Sky Sports account and asked: "Please can you mute the chat coming from Verstappen’s car? Constant moaning is off putting as a viewer."
@ChrisPi53289533 was equally savage. "Verstappen is not respectful of other drivers, the rules etc. and takes advantage of a weak FIA who allow him to exceed track limits and act like a school bully," he posted. "You can only imagine the RB moaning if Leclerc had made up 4 seconds to Verstappen under the virtual safety car."
Still, Verstappen's win was exactly what Red Bull needed after both cars retired with fuel-system problems within sight of the flag in Bahrain. The perception that them and the Scuderia are the teams to beat was reinforced by Carlos Sainz finishing third, and Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez, who had started on pole, in fourth.
And although George Russell finished fifth, it was another tough weekend for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. After his shocking exit in Q1 on Saturday, the seven-time world champion worked his way from 16th up to sixth, before a safety car scuppered his strategy and forced him into the pits.
That dropped him down to 12th, but he did make up two places to score a solitary point. However, whether Hamilton and co should have been racing at all has been widely debated, following a missile attack near the Jeddah track on Friday.
Following four hours of meetings between drivers and senior figures, the decision was made to go ahead at 2.30am local time on Saturday. Among the assurances the teams and drivers received were that the Houthi rebels in Yemen who claimed the attack were targeting infrastructure and not civilians or events.
The incident has raised further questions over F1 holding events in Saudi Arabia. The country's harrowing human rights record has led to accusations of FIA bosses embracing 'sport washing', and ignoring ethical issues.
