Imola was Lewis Hamilton’s first Italian race after the announcement of his Ferrari move for 2025. And people treated the 7X champ like a god, literally, as they made posters of Hamilton, Leclerc, and Vasseur as Jesus, Mary, and the Pope. However, just like the 2021 championship, Max Verstappen snatched all of Hamilton’s Tifosi attention away as rude gestures won over the fans. But what was it all about?

While the Tifosi poured in with all their hearts at the Emilia Romagna GP and celebrated the 7X champ coming to their team, it was Max Verstappen who stole the thunder away. It all started with Max Verstappen explaining in the post-qualifying conference how many fans were clapping for him, but one fan was being rude and showing him some actions. Then, the Dutchman himself showed the finger to that fan. Moreover, he went on to explain how the next time he was coming around, those fans were also clapping for Verstappen.

Now those fans have been identified, as they came out on social media and explained how they love Verstappen for showing them his finger. “We just want to apologize for being idiots. Like in your video you said some idiots showed you signs, it was us. I gave you the thumbs down, he [pointing to his friend] was my support, and we just want to say that we’re really sorry,” they said.

Accepting their mistake, they further added, “It’s our fault and not your fault, for showing us the finger. But we were so proud of the finger that you showed us. We jumped up like little girls. I want to say thank you, Max. After that, you became a legend in our hearts. We love you for that. Please give Ferrari a chance to win tomorrow.” It looks like being in the right and showing people that they’re wrong is one way Max Verstappen earns respect. And he earned his fans’ respect after winning the Imola GP despite everything being against him.

Max Verstappen’s spectacular Imola GP drive under pressure

It was a surprise when Max Verstappen took the pole position in Imola, despite not being the quickest car in the practice. The setup changes seem to have worked and the Dutchman carved out a 6-second lead on the mediums in the race. However, in the last 10 laps, the hard tires really fell off on the Red Bull. Verstappen explained it as driving “on Ice.” Yet, he kept his composure, not making any mistakes, and won the race by less than a second.

Speaking after the race, Max Verstappen said, “I think the whole race I had to push flat out to build a gap at the beginning, and the car worked well on the medium, and in the last 25 laps I had no grip and saw Lando. I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes and I did not. We changed a lot on the car, we didn’t have a lot of information going into the race but from where we started the weekend to now, we can be incredibly pleased with a pole and a win. I’ll take that!”

What did you make of Max Verstappen’s weekend in Italy? Let us know in the comments.