'Verstappen and Hamilton need to work together and make a statement'

During the weekend of the British Grand Prix, people were critical after Verstappen was booed by fans. In Austria, things went wrong again after Lewis Hamilton crashed. The crowd was cheering while the Briton had not yet exited his car unharmed. However, the behaviour of the spectators became even more unpleasant at the Red Bull Ring. Several female fans reported being subjected to sexual harassment.

Formula 1 announced in a statement that they do not tolerate this kind of behaviour. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton also spoke out about the situation. The Dutchman said in an interview that he had read shocking things, while Hamilton said on social media that he was disgusted by the situation.

Hamilton and Verstappen must work together

The two old rivals are not good friends after the title fight in 2021, but former F1 driver Coulthard thinks the drivers could play a role in reducing tension between fans. He revealed this after Verstappen joked about Hamilton "still being able to hit an apex at the age of 37."

"I think it’s the age gap, it’s a generational thing,” said the Scot. “Lewis and Max just don’t have a connection, that is there with Charles and Carlos [Sainz] and Lando [Norris] and George [Russell], all these guys of a generation", he says on Channel 4.

"And that maybe doesn’t seem like much, 10 or 11 years or whatever the age gap is, but in sport that’s more than a generation. I actually would like to see them both get their arms around each other’s shoulders and make a statement to the fans of Formula 1 because we heard some booing for Max at Silverstone – I really don’t feel comfortable with that in Formula 1. I’m all for who you want to support, but let’s be sporting, let’s make this something which is respectful."