“Missing Since Abu Dhabi ’21”: Max Verstappen Fans Wage War Against LH Army Over Controversial Banner at Dutch GP

A rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton that started in 2021 is still going strong. Evidently, it isn’t on track, considering Mercedes dropped the ball after 2021, and Red Bull took over the reins since then. Rather, it’s prevalent amongst the two drivers’ fanbases—the Orange Army and the Lewis Hamilton Army. While Verstappen and Hamilton don’t seem to mind each other as much as they probably did during their season-long championship fight in 2021, there’s still bad blood between their fanbases. And tensions boiled over at the Dutch GP.

In sports, it’s common for banter to flow between fans. But when it comes to F1, and specifically to do with Hamilton or Verstappen, people feel the banter edges over into “toxic” territory even when it doesn’t. That’s precisely what happened in Zandvoort over the past weekend. The battle between the two armies was instigated on Twitter when a Hamilton fan posted a video of a Verstappen fan holding a controversial (by their standards) flag about Lewis Hamilton.

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In the video, the Verstappen fan is seen holding a flag with a picture of Hamilton and the words “Missing Person” written. But what prompted the Hamilton fan to post the video with the caption, “Weirdos,” was what else was printed on the flag. It read, “Last seen in Abu Dhabi 2021,” pointing to the fact that Hamilton hasn’t really done anything too remarkable since the 2021 season concluded. As true as that may be, Hamilton fans didn’t like their hero’s name being dragged into the ground and unleashed their wrath on Verstappen fans. But the Orange Army gave it right back.

Max Verstappen fans hit back at Hamilton’s “fragile fanbase”

With most of the LH Army calling the Orange Army weirdos for devoting so much time to demeaning Hamilton and saying that the seven-time champion lives “rent-free” in their minds, the reigning champion’s fans pointed out all the ways in which their rival fanbase isn’t just “fragile” but also hypocritical. One fan wrote how the LH Army has no problem demeaning Verstappen every chance they get but can’t handle a joke like the one on the flag.

Some users pointed out how fans in the LH Army call Verstappen “Fraudstappen” and claim that it’s okay to do that.

One fan pointed out that the people holding the flag were just having fun, but the LH fan who filmed and posted the video on Twitter couldn’t help but get upset.

The LH fan who posted the video had previously posted a picture of a Dutch GP banner featuring Hamilton, Verstappen, and Leclerc, with the Dutchman’s face covered by a splattered pie emoticon. One fan replied to the video with that picture, showing how hypocritical the original poster was.

Another user mentioned how the entire LH Army has this victim mindset, assuming they’re always the ones coming off worse in any situation.

Most fans just pointed out that it’s plain and simple banter, and the LH Army couldn’t handle even that.

What did you think about the flag? Are you on Team Max Verstappen on this issue, or are you on Team Lewis Hamilton?

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