Max Verstappen’s Nurburgring 24 Hours team-mate Daniel Juncadella has accused the FIA of having “double standards” after Lewis Hamilton was not fined for his offensive gesture at the Miami Grand Prix. During the chaotic race in Miami, Hamilton could be seen directing a rude gesture at Alpine ace Franco Colapinto.
At last year’s World Endurance Championship, Juncadella was punished for doing the same thing as Hamilton. When he was competing at the 2025 WEC season finale in Bahrain, the Spaniard was seen sticking his middle finger up at fierce rival Augusto Farfus.
After seeing the footage, the FIA retrospectively punished him for his “rude, disrespectful and wholly inappropriate in motorsport” gesture. They subsequently fined him around £4318 for his act.
Having seen Hamilton get away with his rudeness without a fine, Juncadella took to social media and blasted the FIA. He said: “So I take it there wasn’t a fine, was there? The FIA’s double standards… They never fail.”
After a fan on social media responded to his post and said Hamilton’s gesture was not really such a big deal, Juncadella replied: “I don’t think it’s right for him to do that. But slap him with a €2,000 fine, just like they did to me.”
Juncadella is going to team up with Jules Gounon, Lucas Auer and Verstappen himself at next week’s Nurburgring 24 hours next weekend. It will be the first time Verstappen has competed in the event and there will be many eyes on the Dutchman.
In Miami, it was another frustrating weekend for the Red Bull ace, who had to content himself with a fifth placed finish. It could have been worse as he was sent spinning on turn two of the first lap, but managed to straighten the car and get himself back into the race.
In the overall standings, Verstappen is currently stuck in 7th place, 74 points behind current leader Kimi Antonelli, who was victorious in Miami at the weekend.