Who was the 'rogue Australian around the Red Bull area' that George Russell was talking about at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP?

George Russell recently mentioned how there was a rogue Australian fan in Red Bull's pit box who flipped him off while he was driving through the pit lane.

Though this statement was somewhat cryptic, fans could easily decipher who the 'Australian fan' was - none other than Red Bull's reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo.

After the practice session when the incident took place, George Russell humorously referred to Daniel Ricciardo as a "rogue Australian fan' and stated how he flipped him off while he was driving through the pit lane.

The Mercedes driver later added that he needs to check the video of it and decide whether an investigation should take place or not. Of course, this was all in jest, and he wasn't serious about the investigation. Russell said:

"There was a rogue Australian fan in the pit lane as well at some point. I don't know who it was who stuck his finger up at me or something when I was waiting to go out. It was around the Red Bull area so I need to check the video to see if an investigation should go into this."

Though it is sad to see Daniel Ricciardo not racing in F1 anymore, his being with Red Bull on most race weekends is a welcome sight as he still manages to entertain fans with his antics off the track.

---

George Russell sums up the upcoming Canadian GP after first two practice sessions

George Russell was not overly confident after the first two practice sessions in the 2023 F1 Canadian GP. While speaking to the media, he initially compared the upcoming race to Spain and how different the tracks are in terms of smoothness.

Though Russell admits that the upgrades brought by Mercedes have slightly helped them, he still feels that they will be slow in qualifying. He said:

“Between Barcelona and here, they are two totally different circuits. Barcelona is a super smooth high-speed circuit, here it’s incredibly bumpy. I do think the upgrades we brought to the car in Barcelona have helped the limitations that we probably would have more of with the old specification of the car."

He added:

"We need to find out where we’re going to be, I think we’re still on the tail end, especially on qualifying pace compared to Ferrari and Aston Martin. They might even. Valtteri looked quick, Alpine too. We always know it comes to us on a Sunday that’s when it’s going to matter. Looks to be wet tomorrow, let’s see what it brings."

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had an excellent second practice session in Montreal as they both finished first and second, respectively.