"Standing on top of the podium," is the most important thing for Max Verstappen as he shrugs off booing from sections of the Miami crowd.

With around 70% of the Miami population being Spanish speakers, as were the first three drivers on Sunday's grid, it was always likely that there would be a degree of bias towards Messrs Perez, Alonso and Sainz. Fair enough.

However, ahead of the race and during the podium ceremony, a section of the crowd loudly booed race winner, Max Verstappen.

"I think if I would be driving in the back of the grid nobody would do anything in terms of reaction," said the Dutchman, who perhaps partly motivated by the reaction from the crowd, powered his way through the field from ninth on the grid to the top step of the podium. "It's normal when you are winning and they don't like who is winning. It's something for me that is absolutely fine.

"As long as I stand on the top of the podium that is the most important thing," he smiled. "I take the trophy home and they go back to their houses and they can have a nice evening."

Other than having the best car on the grid, and DRS to die for, the Dutchman's cause was greatly aided by a tyre strategy which saw him start on the hards while most of those ahead were on mediums.

Making his sole stop 25 laps after his teammate, he rejoined the race behind the Mexican but had overhauled him just a lap later.

"I always feel unbeatable," declared Verstappen, an attitude hardly likely to endear him to many, but rather reinforce his image as a pantomime villain. "But sometimes other people also have a really good day and they can be close to you, or match you and be ahead.

"But I think what is important is to try to be close to 100 percent or perfect every single time. Yesterday wasn't perfect, so overall this weekend wasn't perfect.

"It's a long season and I always try to be as close as possible to perfect."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Editor, 10/05/2023 15:50

"@ BrightonCorgi

The booing in Las Vegas will come mostly from F1 execs and Liberty Media execs after Max wraps up the titles in Qatar"

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2. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 10/05/2023 15:43

"There will be just as much or more booing in Austin, Las Vegas, and Mexico."

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3. Posted by kenji, 10/05/2023 3:55

"@Endre....no, I didn't miss your point and I most certainly support your premise. That's the way it goes though and the wokies that support Hamilton are a very shallow group insofar as they are pushing different agendas that mostly have zip to do with F1. Verstappen wisely stays away from those outlier situations and concentrates on his racing pretty much 100%. That's how it should be. "

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4. Posted by Endre, 09/05/2023 13:17

"@kenji you are right, but missed my point. When it came to Hamilton, there were dozens of people within F1 who spoke out against any kind of booing, there were hundreds of news articles and criticisms. I am not saying that was right, but what double standards mean, is that there was not a single person coming up with the same principles this time around. There are very different standards depending on who is doing the booing and who is receiving it and that is dead wrong."

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5. Posted by kenji, 09/05/2023 2:03

"@Endre...I should think [ but I don't really know ] that most of the 'booing' would be from the Mexican cohort. Perez was quite clearly the fan favourite and he was soundly beaten by a detrmined Verstappen who drove an excellent race. Their man lost. They have the only motive that sounds relative to the event..."

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6. Posted by Endre, 08/05/2023 19:34

"Totally agree with previous statements that booing should be fine, however, I also believe that it should be "earned", just as cheering is usually earned. I am not a Max fan, but booing just because you don't like who wins, is not OK. He hasn't done anything "deserving" of booing.

Also, where are all the people who screamed and yelled bloody murder and racism after Hamilton was booed in Holland in 2021? It wasn't OK to boo him even after what he has done in Silverstone but it is OK to boo Max for no reason? These double standards are contributing to rising tensions and should have no place in sports or life in general."

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7. Posted by Tardis40, 08/05/2023 16:56

"Jealousy. There can only be one winner and one champion. The rest of the world is envious."

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8. Posted by Defiant, 08/05/2023 16:29

"You guys are right, people should be able to booo, I do however think decorum and politeness would pick a better time to do it than the podium. Maybe, as they apparently did make the crowd endure an awful introduction process, that would have been a better time. Much like a villain arriving on stage in a pantomime would receive."

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9. Posted by kenji, 08/05/2023 15:40

"@ Mad Matt, likewise, I am also fine with booing as it's my belief that if one can cheer, one can boo. Both are simple emotional human expressions. "

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10. Posted by Mad Matt, 08/05/2023 15:33

""It's normal when you are winning and they don't like who is winning. It's something for me that is absolutely fine."

Good attitude."

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Verstappen unfazed by the booing

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