Max Verstappen shrugs off boos at the 2023 F1 Miami GP:"I take the trophy home"

Max Verstappen shrugged off the boos from the Miami crowd at the 2023 F1 Miami GP after winning the race for the second season in a row.

The Red Bull driver received audible boos when he was first introduced in the pre-race driver presentation. The boos are not something new for Verstappen as he received the same last season at the same venue.

None of that impacted the Red Bull driver's mindset as he went on to win the 2023 F1 Miami GP. It wasn't a straightforward win for Max as he had to run an extended first stint on hard tires. However, that did not make too much of a difference as he was able to open up a sufficient gap to Perez behind him and win the race.

After the race, Max Verstappen was questioned about the boos he received at the track. The Red Bull driver shrugged it off and stated that he didn't mind getting such a reception. He said:

“I think if I would be driving in the back, nobody would be even doing anything in terms of reaction, right? I think it’s normal when you are winning and they don’t like who is winning. So this is something for me, which is absolutely fine as long I stand on the top that’s for me, the most important. I take the trophy home and they go back to their houses and they can have a nice evening.”

Long stint on hard tires was the key difference: Max Verstappen

Looking back at the race, Max Verstappen felt that it was the long early stint on hard tires that made the difference for him and helped him win the race. He said:

"Yeah, it was a good race. I mean, I stayed out of trouble at the beginning. And then yeah, just had a clean race, you know, picked the cars off one by one. And then I could stay out really long on the Hard tyres and that's where I think we made the difference today. And yeah, then a good little battle with Checo at the end. So we all kept it clean. And that's the most important and yeah, a great win today."

Max Verstappen has now won three of the five races this season. He will be hoping to carry this momentum into Imola, a track where he has won for the last two seasons.