Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has insisted he made no contact with the FIA over his reception from fans at the F1 75 Live launch show.
Horner and four-time world champion Max Verstappen were booed heavily when on stage at the O2 Arena in London as the Milton Keynes-based outfit unveiled its livery for the upcoming season.
Addressing the unsavoury situation, Horner told the media on the first day of the Bahrain pre-season test: “It was a big event, obviously all the teams put a lot of effort into it which was good and interesting to see.
“When you launch your car… it is a bit like launching your away strip in a home fan stadium, and fans will always back the teams and drivers they want to. Of course, we’ve been the protagonists over the years.
“I guess the only disappointment was the reception, Max, as a four-time world champion got, that was disappointing but passion in sport is always going to be there.
“If the launch was in Holland, no doubt the support would have been somewhat different.”
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Wolff takes playful aim at Horner
Horner‘s comments followed a jibe from Mercedes counterpart and fierce rival Toto Wolff, who was asked about the situation ahead of testing.
“I don’t think that Max was booed and we shouldn’t talk an event down that was mega just because one single individual was rightly or wrongly booed when he spoke,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“It was a great event. The spectators there were great. The presentation of the cars was good and it sets a new format for the years to come and that is the new positive we need to take from that.
“I wasn’t booing. There were 15,000 people that did that,” he joked, given the tensions between the two team principals in recent years. “It wasn’t necessary that I did.”
F1‘s governing body released a statement condemning the actions of fans in the O2 Arena, with the response falling in line with its pioneering efforts to clampdown on online abuse.
But taking a step back from the FIA‘s involvement, Horner said: “They made their own comments, it was nothing we certainly asked for.
“We didn’t have any conversations with the FIA following the event. It was obviously a part of their campaign to stamp out online abuse.”
What the FIA said
The FIA statement read: “Great rivalries throughout the history of motorsport have contributed to making it such an exciting experience for fans.
“But what underpins sport at all levels is a culture of respect. As such, it was disappointing to hear the crowd’s tribalist reaction to FIA Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner, at the F1 launch in London.
“Max and Christian have both contributed greatly to the sport we love. In the season ahead we should not lose sight of that.
“As part of the FIA‘s commitment to protect the integrity of the sport, we are leading a coalition tackling online abuse in sport under the banner of our United Against Online Abuse campaign.
“We stand with all of our competitors, officials, volunteers, and fans to unite against this growing threat. We urge the sporting community to consider the impact of their actions both online and offline.”
