Max Verstappen reveals he 'arranged the bodyguards' himself for 2023 F1 Mexican GP
One of the most fascinating news stories about the 2023 F1 Mexican GP has been that Red Bull and Max Verstappen decided to have extra bodyguards around the latter during the race weekend. This is due to several reasons, one of which is that the Dutchman is not the most loved driver amongst Mexicans.
Recently, the three-time world champion opened up on how he himself recruited the bodyguards. According to Viaplay, Max Verstappen initially revealed that he arranged extra security for himself and not Red Bull.
Moreover, he normalized this and stated it has happened on several race weekends but was the first time in Mexico. He also addressed how many fans were angry after the 2022 F1 season, but stressed how it is just a normal procedure.
"I arranged the bodyguards myself. That doesn't go through the team and happens quite often. It's the first time in Mexico now though, but we don't need to spend so much time on that otherwise. At the end of 2022, a few people may have been a bit angry. For the rest, it is a normal procedure and is part of certain countries," said Verstappen.
There were several reports of how Max Verstappen has received threats from Mexican fans and how the booing during the 2023 F1 US GP podium celebration was just a hint at how the Dutchman is not the most liked driver in the west.
Nonetheless, the Red Bull star has his focus completely on the race weekend and will perform as well as he can.
Max Verstappen wants more competition in the front of the grid
Even though Max Verstappen is basking in the glory of his dominance in Formula 1, he himself stated that he wants more competition at the top. When Sportskeeda asked in the pre-race press conference what he would like to change if he were in change of the sport, he simply answered that he would try harder to bring teams closer to each other.
The Dutchman said:
“Like, it's just bringing the teams closer together. Because naturally, you're fighting more. For me, that's really the main thing. Of course, you know, in terms of following and, you know, just general overtaking and all those things that you can improve on the car. But I think if you have multiple teams fighting for the win, it makes it interesting by itself."
As a pure racing driver, Max Verstappen would always like to win, but he, too, feels that it would be interesting if more cars and drivers were fighting for the win, which almost every F1 fan would also enjoy.