At first sight the gesture made by Santo Condorelli would be taken as obscene by north Americans as he raises his middle finger before the race.

The gesture - also known as "shooting the bird" - is equivalent to the v-sign in Britain, but Condorelli’s is not seeking to cause offence.

It is part of his pre-race ritual and the gesture is aimed at his father who is watching the event.

Nevertheless it has caused the 21-year-old some problems, especially when he appeared to be making the gesture at the television cameras which were just in front of his father.