Italians are some of the most passionate motorsports fans in the world and don’t hold back while expressing themselves. Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris came accross one such fan in Imola on Saturday. And while Verstappen and Piastri weren’t in the ‘good books’ of this fan, Norris had a much better experience.
This triggered a jealous response from the other two drivers, as evident in the post-qualifying press conference.
Verstappen spoke about how a fan gave him the middle finger on his way into the pit lane, whereas Piastri received a thumb-down. The same person, however, clapped for Miami GP race winner Lando Norris.
max said there was a fan that wasn’t nice to him and he gave him the middle finger, oscar said the fan gave him the thumbs down & lando said he was clapping for him.
oscar: “he was clapping for you?? wow! did you sign with ferrari or something”
— ray (@ln4norris) May 18, 2024
It surprised both Verstappen and Piastri, with the latter taking a playful jibe at his teammate. The Melbourne-born driver said,
“He was clapping for you?? Wow! Did you sign with Ferrari or something?”
While Lando Norris enjoyed the affection he received, his peers cannot say the same. But it doesn’t matter – at least to Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver doesn’t mind the boos and flip-offs thrown at him as long as he continues winning races and dominating F1.
Max Verstappen in favor of being first and booed
Verstappen is no stranger to being booed. During the 2023 Miami GP, despite fighting back from P9 to win the race, he was booed loudly on his way to the podium. Fast forward to just over a year later, and Verstappen faced a similar outcome in Imola.
However, his reaction after the Miami incident proves that he doesn’t care about the fans’ negative reactions. He insisted that it is normal for them to dislike winning drivers and per Marca, stated,
For me, the most important thing is to take the trophy home and for them to go home and be able to … have a nice evening.”
Max Verstappen simply doesn’t care about the boos from the crowd #F1 pic.twitter.com/6sgFsqLktv
— Crash.net – Formula 1 (@CRASH_NET_F1) May 8, 2023
Verstappen will now be looking to win his fifth race of the 2024 season. But with the RB20 not being at its dominant best, the 26-year-old could have his work cut out for him. The McLaren and Ferrari drivers remain in the mix to hunt Verstappen down.
