Formula 1 News: Verstappen middle finger 'a joke'

(GMM) The FIA will take no action against Max Verstappen’s latest faux pas – giving the middle finger to a friend.

The quadruple world champion has been at the center of the harsh new driver conduct clampdown, serving community service for a 2024 expletive and – like his peers – facing a slew of even more draconian penalties this season.

Nico Hulkenberg thinks the FIA should ease off.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard either Formula 1 fans or even casual spectators complain about the behavior of drivers – that they are setting a bad example,” said the Sauber driver.

“On the contrary, I think people like it when athletes express their emotions.”

Verstappen did just that from the cockpit of his new Red Bull in Bahrain last Friday, when he flashed his middle finger at the Williams pit wall.

The team played it down.

“The action was meant as a joke,” a Red Bull spokeswoman told Bild newspaper, “towards a friend from an opposing team.

“We do not believe there will be any consequences.”

Indeed, it is believed Verstappen was cheekily ‘greeting’ his friend Luke Browning, a Williams development driver.

The FIA did not even investigate the incident.