Lewis Hamilton unfazed by Max Verstappen’s ‘orange army’ as fans return in Austria

Lewis Hamilton says he won’t be fazed by any hostility from the championship leader Max Verstappen’s fans this weekend, as F1 prepares to host a capacity crowd for the first time in a year.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a sea of orange in the stands at the Red Bull Ring, as many Austrian and Dutch fans show their appreciation for the home team’s driver.

It means Hamilton will have to contend with a crowd predominantly cheering for his main rival after Covid restrictions eased in Austria.

Around 100,000 fans are expected across the three days at the Red Bull Ring, with 60,000 predicted to attend on Sunday alone.

Yet Hamilton says it won’t make a difference to his performance on Sunday.

“I’ve never noticed any hostility really here,” he said during Thursday’s press conference ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, “I think there was one time some fans were a bit negative on the podium but I’m able to let that go over my head.

“I appreciate the fans and I love the energy they bring. As a fan of other sports, I know what it’s like to be against one team and for another so I totally respect it. It’s no problem.”

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Hamilton trails Verstappen by 18 points heading into the final race of the triple-header, with Red Bull pulling out a 40 point lead over Mercedes.

And it may be an advantage Verstappen this weekend in terms of fans, but Hamilton will get his chance to impress in front of a full capacity crowd in two weeks’ time for the British Grand Prix.

Yet, Hamilton felt the return to fans at the Northampton-based circuit was “a bit premature” with COVID-19 cases rising sharply in the UK.

“One, I can’t tell you how excited I am to see people and the British crowd because it’s the best crowd of the whole year,” Hamilton said after the announcement during the Styrian Grand Prix weekend.

“Last year we didn’t have them, so it will be great to be able to see them and feel the energy they bring into the weekend.

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“Second, of course I watch the news, so I see about the cases going up massively in the UK, so on that side I worry for people, naturally.

“I don’t want to turn it into a negative. I’m excited to see so many people. The selfish part of me, I want to see all the people there.

“But I turned on the news this morning, I’ve been watching it these past days, and rates have increased since people are loosening up a little bit, and not everyone is vaccinated so I do worry about people.

“I read the vaccinations are good, there are fewer people in hospital, but…I don’t know, it feels a bit premature to me.

“If people go there, I hope we learn something from it and I hope everyone just stays safe. I’d encourage everyone just to continue to wash their hands and wear their masks, particularly when there are those big crowds.”

Ticket holders will be asked for either proof of a negative lateral flow test taken within 48 hours of arrival at Silverstone, or proof of full vaccination.

When told about the procedures, Hamilton responded: “Oh great, I didn’t know that. If that covers everything, I don’t know. I hope it does.

“I think it was great that we had people at the last race [in France, 15,000 per day] and I’ve not heard any negative things come from that.

“But I like to err on the side of caution and slowly build up rather than going full pelt and using our British fans as a testbed.”

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