Remember the 2023 Austin GP at the Circuit of the Americas where Max Verstappen was booed after winning the race? The Dutchman isn’t one to let these things slide, and in response suggested that people can boo all they want as all he cares about is taking the winner’s trophy home! Another incident of a fan being rude to Max happened at the Emilia Romagna GP as Tifosi’s repeated unpleasant behavior angered the 3X champ. 

Just like Zandvoort is Verstappen’s home race, the Imola and Monza GP are Scuderia’s home races, where the Grandstands and paddock are filled with the Tifosi. And it wasn’t only Austin where Verstappen was booed last year, but also the Monza GP, after the qualifying as Verstappen came second to Carlos Sainz, who was on pole.

Max has now taken it upon himself to awaken the Tifosi about their rudeness. 

The Dutchman handled the issue by giving them a taste of their own medicine. Speaking about the incident during the post-qualifying press conference, Max Verstappen said, “I had a funny story in qualifying where I was driving in the pits, a lot of guys were clapping, and one guy, he was doing some different things to me, so I gave him the finger. And then the next time I came around, he was clapping. So you know, they learned. It’s easy to not be nice to the drivers, but I can also be not nice to you.”

Regardless, Max Verstappen fought a hard battle in the qualifying at Imola this time around to get the pole position. Let’s look at how the qualifying session went for him.

Max Verstappen’s “adrenaline” filled qualifying session at Emilia Romagna GP

He looked nowhere near as fast to deliver the pole lap during the practice sessions. Max himself advised that his aim going into qualifying was to get into the Top 5. But little did he know that the changes made between practice and qualifying would work wonders for him, as he grabbed the pole by half a tenth, although he was aided by Nico Hulkenberg’s slipstream. 

Speaking about his pole position at Imola, Max Verstappen during the post-qualifying interview said, “Really difficult weekend so far, including this morning. We made some changes before qualifying. Wow! To drive a car around here on the limit, I’m still pumping with adrenaline. It’s a great start to the year but it’s very special as it’s 30 years since Senna died. I’m very pleased to get pole here, it is very special.”

What did you make of Max Verstappen’s weekend so far in Italy? Will he be able to win the race?