Lando Norris sarcastically flipped off a Formula One fan who criticized him for breaking an undesired piece of history during the Australian Grand Prix.
Norris won his 14th podium of his career on Sunday, breaking Nick Heidfeld’s record for most podium places without ever winning a race.
The undesired slice of history ruined an otherwise excellent tenure for the British star, who finished third at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.
Norris’ third-place finish in Melbourne was McLaren’s first in ten years, as he finished ahead of the two Ferraris.
However, the 24-year-old extended his streak of no race wins in 107 F1 Grands Prix, which is only four more than Lewis Hamilton has won.
When a troll reminded him of this fact after the Australian Grand Prix, he responded bluntly.
As Norris walked back to his McLaren squad, a heckling supporter said, “When are you going to win a race, Lando?”
The Bristol-born racer retaliated by swinging around to face the crowd and flashing a cheeky middle finger at the supporter.
Norris has finished second seven times in his F1 career, but his seventh-place performance in Russia in 2021 haunts him.
Following his first pole position of his career in Sochi, Norris was on track for his first victory before suffering late tragedy.
With only two circuits remained, the rookie made the ultimately erroneous decision not to pit for wet tyres as rain began to fall, allowing Hamilton to overtake him for the chequered flag.
The decision continues to bother Norris, who described the consequences from the race as his ‘lowest low’ in a September interview with Formula One.
In Australia, Norris watched as his old McLaren colleague Carlos Sainz won his third race just a week after undergoing appendix surgery.
Sainz joked to Sky Sports about Norris’ potential first win, saying, “It is what I told Lando, I said maybe you should get your appendix removed this winter, you should do it because there may be a tenth in it. “We were discussing it on the podium.”
Reflecting on his personal race, Norris said, “It was a great day for us.
“I’m extremely thrilled and proud of the squad because P3 and P4 have a lot of points in the championship, so that’s the first thing.
“We missed out on Charles [Leclerc], but I believe our pace was a little quicker. He undercut us in the first run, so there may be some possibility for second place.
“I believe we maintained a good pace today. But Ferrari and Carlos did an excellent job, so kudos to them.
“They were fast all weekend. I felt like I could handle the tyres really well today, which was a positive step. [I] definitely didn’t expect to be on the podium, so I’m extremely pleased.”
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