Smashed Bottle and Fireworks Scare: Lando Norris' Podium Mishap Goes Viral After Sao Paulo Win

· Yahoo Sports

Lando Norris has gone viral for a podium mishap in Brazil. (Source: MEGA)

Lando Norris has gone viral all over social media after a Brazilian GP podium that went terribly wrong. The British driver looked in control of everything that Interlagos had to throw at him, but only until he got to the podium. Opting for his signature party trick, the British driver went to smash the champagne bottle’s bottom on the floor, but the outcome wasn’t what he expected.

Hoping to see the contents of the bottle fly out, Norris and the fans of his party trick were in for disappointment when the bottle gave out. As he looked at the neck of the bottle that was still in his hands, the McLaren driver did not realize he was backing in too close to the podium fireworks.

Visit raccoongame.org for more information.

The 2025 F1 champion then got hit in the face with the pyro, as he quickly backed away from it. Ultimately, Norris did not seem to be hurt by the incident as he laughed it off alongside fellow podium finishers, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.

The series of unfortunate events for the three-time Grand Prix winner in 2026 quickly went viral on social media, with fans taking to the comments section to detail their feelings about it all.

Social Media Reacts to Lando Norris' Brazil Podium

Norris‘ signature celebration is something that he has been doing since his junior racing days, as he once explained how the process works. Instead of shaking the bottle, you smash it against the ground to make the contents fly out. A thick-bottomed bottle works best for this, with one having to remember not to put enough force to smash the bottle itself.

Having won his third race of 2026, the outgoing champion seemed to forget his own advice and smashed the bottle to bits before walking face-first into the fireworks.

Lando Norris forgot to pay heed to his own advice. (Source: MEGA)

“OK, the trophy is made of titanium and I can’t break it. What can I break today?” wrote one fan, recalling the 2023 Hungary GP incident when Norris ended up breaking Max Verstappen’s porcelain trophy.

Meanwhile, another fan referenced the same incident as they wrote, “smashed a bottle and the race. Didn’t smash a trophy this time.”

For some fans, Norris’ aura loss was a major concern as one wrote, “so much aura was lost during this,” while another commented, “aura -1000000000.”

Lando Norris indicated that he was okay after the podium incident. (Source: MEGA)

The post-celebration moments saw Norris still holding on to the neck of the bottle and posing with it in one hand while holding the race winner’s trophy in the other. For one fan, this was a particularly enjoyable moment as they wrote, “love he’s holding on to the remaining of the champagne bottle.”

Lando Norris Ultimately Got His Champagne Celebrations Right

Having bungled the celebrations on the podium, Norris would earn a shot at redemption soon after. As is tradition, the trophy winners have a team photo after all the proceedings have wrapped up, and the spraying of the champagne is as much a tradition outside the garage as it is on the podium.

View this post on Instagram

Taking one bottle for himself to spray during the team celebrations, Norris made sure that he wasn’t going to go two-for-two in terms of smashing the bottle to bits in Brazil. In fact, the Briton got so cautious that he ended up shaking the bottle to have it spray, instead of opting for his party trick.

The Briton was seen constantly shaking the bottle to have it spray as he poured its contents onto his teammates outside the McLaren garage. He would later also reveal that his hand was fine from the podium incident, while the champagne bottle was ‘not fine.’ And while his ear looked visibly red from the fireworks incident, he didn’t disclose much about it.

Read full story at source