Lando Norris went viral on social media after his accident on the podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver controlled almost everything that happened to him at Interlagos, until he reached the podium.
The 2025 champion did his usual celebratory trick after collecting his trophy, crouched down and slammed the base of the champagne bottle on the ground to make the contents fizz from the top. But this time, the bottle gave way under the impact and crashed to the ground. He then stepped forward and appeared to be hit in the face by the fireworks from the podium.
Norris appeared unhurt by the incident and was seen laughing about it with Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, who finished second and third respectively.
The moment quickly went viral on social media. “I broke the bottle, walked into the fireworks. It’s not a win he’ll easily forget,” one fan commented on Reddit, while another added: “Next race they’ll give him a certificate of participation printed on laminated paper.”
“Another classic Lando moment on the podium,” someone else posted, while another wrote: “He destroyed the bottle with a pretty majestic smack…then put his head in a flowing firework. That must be worth at least an extra point or something haha.”
Other reactions included: “Classic Lando on podium shenanigans” and “That was hilarious. Breaks the bottle, takes the pyrotechnics in the face, then immediately gets sprayed by all three while dying of embarrassment.”
Norris has celebrated this way since his junior racing days, and he explained how it works on the F1 explains podcast last year. “Instead of shaking the bottle and then spraying it, you smash it against the ground,” he explained. “The trick here is not to break it. And the trick to that is to have a very, very thick, strong bottle.”
The accident didn’t alter Norris’ afternoon much. He beat Verstappen by 14.602 seconds in changing conditions to claim his third victory of the season, with Hadjar completing the podium in third.
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