New footage shows F1 star 'flipping off' rival driver

Charles Leclerc walks alongside Carlos Sainz and George Russell — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

New footage shows F1 star 'flipping off' rival driver

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were previously team-mates

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 12 March 2026 13:53

New footage from the Australian Grand Prix weekend has gone viral, with one F1 driver jokingly 'flipping off' his rival with his middle finger.

Last weekend's race in Melbourne was the first of the new era of F1, with wholesale new regulations having swept into the sport for this year, and it did not disappoint, with a thrilling grand prix ending in a Mercedes one-two.

But it was before the race that has caught the attention of eagle-eyed F1 fans on social media, with some footage going viral on X appearing to show Carlos Sainz showing the middle finger to one of his rivals during the drivers' parade.

Article continues under video

Drivers were split into teams for the parade around the Albert Park Circuit, and Sainz was therefore lined up alongside team-mate Alex Albon as they waved to their adoring fans.

Sainz, however, was more focused on his former team-mate Charles Leclerc, flipping off the Ferrari driver with his middle finger.

The hilariously playful moment captures the relationship that Sainz and Leclerc still have despite no longer racing for the same team.

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Sainz's difficult position

Sainz was replaced at Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season by Lewis Hamilton, after the team opted to sign the seven-time world champion in a blockbuster move.

The Spaniard had done little wrong, and had his best season in Ferrari red during 2024, when he already knew of his replacement at the team.

Sainz won two grands prix throughout the year and helped Ferrari mount a challenge for the constructors' championship, all while trying to find a new team for the 2025 season.

After much deliberation, that team ended up being Williams, who were running down in ninth in the constructors' championship at that point.

Nonetheless, Sainz's first season at Williams yielded two grand prix podiums, two more than Hamilton managed at Ferrari, as the team finished a brilliant fifth during 2025.

But in the early stages of the 2026 season, four-time grand prix winner Sainz appears to be driving a car that doesn't come close to matching his elite talents, with the Spaniard only managing to finish 15th at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Williams had hoped to close the gap to the top four teams in the sport amid the regulations overhaul, but their FW46 has been revealed by team principal James Vowles to be more than 20kg overweight, and that is causing them performance issues compared to their rivals.

Albon admitted in Australia that the team aren't even in a midfield battle as such in the early part of this season, and both Sainz and Albon will be desperately hoping their team can find some answers.

F1 Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz Australian Grand Prix