F1 Photographer Reveals Why Carlos Sainz Flipped the Bird at Lando Norris

Lando Norris has had the privilege of being teammates with some of the coolest drivers on the F1 grid and shared a great relationship with all of them. However, the one with Carlos Sainz still stands out. Despite moving teams, the two share a special bond. Yet, Sainz flipped the bird at Norris in the Azerbaijan GP paddock. 

Kym Illman revealed in his YouTube video how the Spaniard while walking into the paddock on the media day noticed Norris, and showed him the middle finger. The McLaren driver was dressed in all-black overalls and was making his way to his hospitality suite.

the wrong spelling of too is how you know it was actually lando that posted this pic.twitter.com/iOoCXLpNCN

— bella (@rossitocarlito) September 12, 2024

Illman explained how the two were walking towards each other before Norris went upstairs. Sainz noticed the Brit much earlier but the McLaren driver only noticed the Spaniard once at the top. This is when the Williams-bound driver flipped the finger.

The F1 photographer showed the photos he captured of this specific moment with Sainz laughing after the exchange. Although showing the finger is usually offensive, ‘Car-Lando’ treated it as a way of exchanging greetings. 

Illman then revealed that he went up to Norris later in the day and showed him the pictures of Sainz flipping the finger. The Brit then did the same for Illman, suggesting that it was his response to the Spaniard.

Funnily enough, Norris uploaded a picture of Sainz giving him the finger on his Instagram story with the response, “Good morning to you too Carlos”, further confirming that it was all fun and games.