Lewis Hamilton is braced for a barrage of boos from Max Verstappen’s Orange Army at the first Dutch Grand Prix in 36 years but the seven times world champion hopes to turn it to his advantage.
Some 70,000 fans will be at Zandvoort every day this weekend and Hamilton, three points clear of his Dutch Red Bull rival in the standings, can expect a hostile reception.
Hamilton, who arrived at the seaside circuit somewhat provocatively on Thursday wearing an entirely orange outfit and told reporters that the colour suited him, said it was to be expected.
“I’ve never been someone that would go to an event and boo but you understand it,” said the Mercedes driver when asked about some other races where Verstappen fans have been present in numbers.
“You see it at football events. It’s just the passion that the fans have, or the dislike that some of them have for their opponents.
“I respect it... I know I do have some Team LH fans in the Netherlands, there will probably be a small portion in the grandstands out there and I admire them for being able to withstand the boos too.”
Hamilton, who maintained British F1 fans did not boo, said he would aim to turn the negative energy into a positive “and try and put it into the driving.”
Verstappen has won six of the 12 races so far to Hamilton’s four but has suffered from incidents, including a first lap collision between the pair at Hamilton’s home race in July – won by the Briton.
The two have shown plenty of respect for each other on and off track, while racing hard, and Verstappen said that while he could not condone the booing he could do nothing to stop it either.
“When you go to a football match, you come into a home ground and the opposition will be booed at some point and it’s not up to the local club to go onto the speakers and say ‘guys you cannot boo’ because it will naturally happen,” he told reporters.
“I don’t think it’s up to me to say guys you cannot boo because I am not them and I have to just focus on what I’m doing on the track.
“I’m pretty sure most of them are here for a great weekend to see cars racing and of course some of them will boo but I cannot decide for them. You can say ‘you cannot boo’ but do you really think they are going to listen to me?”

Hamilton happy if ‘incredibly talented’ Russell joins Mercedes
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton praised George Russell yesterday and said he would be happy to have him as his Formula One teammate next season if that was Mercedes’ decision. The 23-year-old Briton is expected to move from Williams and join compatriot Hamilton for 2022 in place of Finland’s Valtteri Bottas. Russell, whose career has been managed by Mercedes, told reporters at Zandvoort ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix that he knew where he would be racing next year and had been informed before last weekend’s race in Belgium. Hamilton’s language left little doubt Russell had got the nod. “I honestly think it will be good,” the champion said when asked how the relationship with Russell might be. “I think George is an incredibly talented driver.
“Probably the only highlight from last week was his qualifying lap, it was amazing,” he added, referring to Russell putting the Williams on the front row at a wet Belgian Grand Prix and finishing second. The race at Spa lasted for only a handful of laps behind the safety car. “He’s humble, I think he’s got a great approach. Naturally being British I would imagine probably helps in terms of communication,” continued Hamilton. The Mercedes driver said he had to be ‘super-supportive’ of Bottas as his current teammate, with the pair fighting for the constructors’ championship, but Russell represented the future. “He’s already showing incredible driving so far and I’m sure he’s going to continue to grow, so where better to do it than in a great team like this – or what team he goes to,” said Hamilton.
The Daily Mail reported this week that Hamilton was far from happy with Russell becoming his teammate and quoted a ‘well-placed source’ saying the decision had gone down “like a lead balloon”. The older Briton said yesterday, however, that he felt he had nothing to prove. “If it does turn out that I’ve got a different teammate, I’m in a different place in my life,” he said. “I’m excited to see the youngsters coming through. It’s not that I want to lose to a youngster but I’m excited to see the progression of the sport... I see a lot of myself in the younger generation. “There will be things we learn from one another. I think it’s important that the respect is always there and communication will be at the core of that.”
Russell stood in for Hamilton in Bahrain last season, a race the youngster was unfortunate not to win. “When you start with someone new it takes time. Even when we have a new engineer or a new mechanic it takes a moment for them to gel in,” said Hamilton. “George has already been on the circuit with us, he’s already done a race with the team, he’s already been in the background while Valtteri and I have been working in the past. So I think he knows the environment well.”