Max Verstappen flips off Lando Norris at French GP

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are good friends off the track.

Max Verstappen made a cheeky hand gesture towards Lando Norris during practice at the French Grand Prix last weekend.

Norris has become known for waving at his mates in the car during practice sessions, including Verstappen, George Russell and Carlos Sainz, and he gravitated towards the Dutchman in Le Castellet.

Initially, Verstappen gave Norris a polite wave, but he playfully raised his middle finger at the 22-year-old as he drove past him while they were both on slow laps.

A commenter on YouTube joked that the producers of Netflix Drive to Survive will take it out of context for season five, while others remarked that it was nice to see two friends showing affection towards each other in the car.

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Verstappen went on to win the race at the Circuit Paul Ricard after Charles Leclerc crashed out of the lead having started on pole position.

The Monegasque’s mistake promoted Sir Lewis Hamilton up to second, while Russell passed Sergio Perez late on to claim third and secure Mercedes’ first double podium of the season.

Sainz recovered to fifth after receiving an engine penalty ahead of the weekend that saw him start 19th, before taking a penalty during Sunday’s race for an unsafe release.

Norris tried his best to chase down Fernando Alonso for P6, but had to settle for seventh as his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo ended ninth – the McLaren pair had the other Alpine of Esteban Ocon sandwiched in between them.

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Lance Stroll held off team-mate Sebastian Vettel with some aggressive late defending at the end of the afternoon.

Verstappen now leads Leclerc by 63 points in the Drivers’ Standings, while Red Bull hold an 82-point advantage in the teams’ battle.