Tim Cook waves chequered flag at the United States F1 GP, and people aren’t impressed

Formula 1 fans were just treated to one heck of a race at the Circuit of the Americas with high-speed crashes, fumbled pit stops and overtakes galore at the United States Grand Prix. However, despite all the action on track, one particular moment off track has gotten social media abuzz and it somehow involved the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook.

In case you weren’t awake at 3am onwards to catch the race, at the final lap, Tim Cook was brought on to trackside to wave the chequered flag at the finish line, which signals the end of the race. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this done before of course, as Formula 1 has a long tradition of bringing in special guests to wave the chequered flag. Cook was there likely due to the fact that Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton have teamed up to produce a new Formula 1 movie, which will premiere on Apple TV+.

However, once he stepped up to actually wave the chequered flag though, it’s safe to say that he certainly didn’t seem excited or even interested at the action that we all just saw on the track. In fact, he even looked a tad bored, slowly and gently waving the flag side to side as the likes of Max Verstappen, Hamilton and Charles Leclerc zoom past him and the finish line. This scene was broadcast live to the millions watching at home, and it didn’t take long for the internet to take notice with the Formula 1 side of Twitter now full of memes and jokes about the Apple CEO.

In defense to Cook, he was probably there since the start of the day and could’ve just been a bit tired after having to meet with media and fans alike. He was also invited to walk along the starting grid prior to the start of the race, which in the sweltering Texas heat is never an easy task. Incredibly, it also wasn’t the first time in recent history that an invited guest waving the flag ended up trending on social media. At last year’s Monaco GP, Serena Williams waved the chequered flag and was interviewed alongside winner Verstappen after the race in an awkward exchange that was also joked about by fans.