Max Verstappen saw the lighter side of Donald Trump's divisive performance at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend.
Many fans were stunned to see the 45th President of the United States United States arrived at the Miami International Autodrome on Sunday, where he visited the McLaren garage and spoke to leading Formula 1 personnel.
The 77-year-old was later seen Congratulations to McLaren's Lando Norris after the The British driver won his very first F1 Grand Prixbeating Verstappen after benefiting from a safety car mid-race.
Trump's presence at the race caused much controversy among fans as the sport's governing body, the FIA, has banned drivers from making political statements during the Grand Prix, but Trump was allowed to attend despite being on the campaign trail was while he was seeking re-election. .
In addition, it was previously reported that Miami GP and F1 stopped Trump associate Steven Witkoff from planning to host an event. Fundraiser of $250,000 per ticket in its Paddock Club rooftop suite.
McLaren has issued a statement in defense of their decision to accommodate Trump: “McLaren is a non-political organization, but we recognize and respect the office of President of the United States, so when the request was made to visit our garage on race day, we accepted that.
“We were honored that McLaren Racing was chosen to represent F1, giving us the opportunity to showcase the world-class engineering we bring to motorsport.”
Fortunately, the issue did not overshadow the success of the Grand Prix weekend, and even Verstappen, who has consistently and infamously shared his displeasure when off-track matters get in the way of racing, was able to make a joke about the saga.
Asked about Trump's performance, the three-time world champion joked, as quoted by Canal+: “It's good that everyone looks at him, you know, and then they don't bother me anymore!”
Miami marked only the fifth time in the last 31 races that Verstappen has failed to take victory, although second place can hardly be described as a bad thing.
The Dutchman has extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 33 points over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third and Norris now fourth.
After six races, Verstappen remains on course to win a fourth title in a row, with the next Grand Prix taking place on May 19 at Imola in Italy.
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