Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff does not believe that Max Verstappen was subject to booing at the F1 75 season-launch event in London.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, on the other hand, Wolff heard the boos for loud and clear, though he does not believe it is right for this to leave a bad aftertaste for a “great event”.

Toto Wolff denies London crowd booed Max Verstappen

In a first-of-its-kind event, all 10 teams descended on London’s O2 Arena for the F1 75 season launch, which saw all 10 liveries for the upcoming F1 2025 campaign revealed.

However, the show sparked controversy when a section of the 15,000-strong crowd was heard booing Red Bull’s four-time World Champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

This had led to Max’s father Jos declaring that the reigning World Champion will not attend any such events in future should it be held in England, a stance understood to have been acknowledged internally within Red Bull.

Only, in the opinion of Wolff – also present at the F1 75 season-launch event – the crowd did not boo Verstappen.

After Sky F1 reporter Craig Slater stated his belief that “I don’t think he [Verstappen] got booed exactly, there was plenty of cheers I heard for him as well, Wolff came in with: “I think, as you say, I don’t think that Max was booed.”

Horner, though, Slater and Wolff both agreed was subject to booing, though Wolff made it clear that he does not see this as justification for the event to be frowned upon, insisting it was observed by “great spectators”.

“And we shouldn’t talk an event down that was mega just because one single individual, rightly or wrongly, was booed when he spoke,” Wolff continued.

“It was a great event. I mean, the spectators there were great. The presentation of the cars was good. And it sets a new format for the years to come and that is the positive we need to take from that.”

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Horner and Wolff have a rather storied relationship across their respective F1 careers, the duo never too far away from some verbal combat, seen most recently during the late-2024 season spat between Verstappen and Mercedes driver George Russell, Wolff referring to Horner as a “yapping little terrier” during all that.

So, when Slater jokingly asked if he was one of the people booing Horner, Wolff replied: “No, I wasn’t booing. There was 15,000 people that did that!

“It wasn’t necessary that I did.”

F1 2025 pre-season testing kicks off in Bahrain on February 26, with three days of action to come at the Bahrain International Circuit.

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