Valtteri Bottas: "Lewis did an amazing lap at the end and then you get booing. So I think the people, just question yourself, it's not right, it's not fair and we don't want to see these kind of things"
Sunday 1 August 2021 09:47, UK
Lewis Hamilton said being subjected to boos from some of the crowd at the Hungarian GP would only serve to "fuel me" to perform even stronger.
The world champion received jeers after qualifying on pole position, both when he got out of his Mercedes and then when speaking to Sky F1's Johnny Herbert in the post-session interview.
Hamilton shrugged off the boos.
"Honestly, I've never actually felt so great with the booing," said Hamilton. "If anything it just fuels me. So I don't really mind it."
Hungary follows two weeks after the British GP at Silverstone, when Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided with the latter crashing out. The controversy and fallout has proved polarising, and continued to dominate into this weekend's event in Budapest.
Speaking in the press conference about the booing, Hamilton added: "That's sport, right? And people act wild when it's sport, it's competition, and I don't take it to heart.
"I must be doing something right to be up front. It's pretty good for me otherwise."
Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate, stood up for the seven-time world champion.
After finishing an answer on an unrelated question about qualifying, an unprompted Bottas added: "I don't normally say about these kind of things what I think, but I heard a lot booing at the end of the qualifying. I don't understand it.
"I would like the people to question themselves, their behaviour, because I don't think it's fair. We are here as athletes to give every single bit we have for the sport we love.
"Lewis did an amazing lap at the end and then you get booing. So I think the people, just question yourself, it's not right, it's not fair and we don't want to see these kind of things."
Verstappen said the booing was "not correct" but said that drivers were professional enough to block out negative reaction.
"It's not nice but it shouldn't influence any of us," said the Red Bull driver. "I think we are all very professional and know what we have to do on track anyway."
