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Max Verstappen Gave Vulgar Gesture to Fan Who Promptly Learned Lesson

Max Verstappen turned a fan from an adversary to a supporter in record time.

Josh Wilson

May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) reacts after
May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) reacts after / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Formula One spends this weekend in Imola, Italy, for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. Max Verstappen earned pole position in Saturday's qualifying.

While Verstappen has defined motorsport dominance in recent years, he's not universally loved by fans, mostly because anyone who supports a non-Red Bull team has had to watch win after win for Red Bull and Verstappen.

One fan in particular stuck out to Verstappen during qualifying. He detailed to Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf that, "everyone" in pit lane clapped for him with the exception of one fan, who Verstappen admits he directed a middle finger toward.

Verstappen said that same fan gave him applause on the next lap that he rode. "So he learned from it," Verstappen said, jokingly, according to a translation of van Haren's Tweet.

Going into the weekend, Verstappen leads all drivers with 136 points (Sergio Perez, his teammate, trails him by 33). Red Bull also leads the Constructor Standings with 239 points to Ferrari's 187 and McLaren's 124.

Though at this point it looks like Red Bull could run away with the season, last race's win in Miami for Lando Norris proved that some gutsy changes McLaren has made to its car midseason might be cause for concern for Red Bull. Norris had been on the podium twice this season already before his first Grand Prix win on May 5.

17 races remain, so the year is far from over.

Emilia-Romagna starts at 3 p.m. local time, 9 a.m. Eastern.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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