Lando Norris Unharmed After Champagne Bottle Shatters, Sparks Fly on Podium
Lando Norris won the São Paulo Grand Prix on November 8, 2026, then shattered his champagne bottle on the podium and was caught by pyrotechnic sparks. McLaren's Andrea Stella said the 2025 world champion was unharmed.
Lando Norris was caught in a hilarious podium mishap after winning the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos on Sunday, November 8, 2026. His champagne bottle shattered when he struck it on the podium floor, and podium pyrotechnics then showered sparks near his head.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Norris was unharmed.
Bottle breaks, sparks fly
Norris, 26, had just collected his trophy. He tried his usual trick of slamming the bottle against the floor to make the champagne spray.
The glass broke on impact. He was left holding only part of the bottle instead of sending a spray into the air.
Then he stepped toward the podium pyrotechnics. Sparks appeared to hit the right side of his head and cap, and he briefly held his face.
He recovered quickly. Norris shared a laugh with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, who finished second and third. Footage showed him holding up the broken bottle to the crowd, and the clip spread widely on social media.
What McLaren said
Stella was asked about Norris's condition in his post-race media appearance. “I have not talked to him. I have not checked, but I understand he is all right,” he said.
Stella said he understood the problem came from the pyrotechnics rather than the bottle. “I understand that he had an incident with the pyrotechnic, not with the bottle,” he said. He added that the bottle “didn't go well either,” and suggested Norris was surprised by the pyro as he went for it.
A known risk
Norris has talked about the danger of the move before. “The trick here is to not smash it. And the trick to that is by having a very, very thick, strong bottle,” he said on the F1 Explains podcast.
It was not the first time the routine caused trouble. At the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, he knocked Verstappen's winner's trophy off the podium with the same move and broke it.
The race itself
The podium comedy followed a strong afternoon. Norris started from pole position, recovered from a slow start and handled changing weather to win by 14.6 seconds over Verstappen.
It was his third victory of the 2026 season and his second consecutive win in São Paulo. Verstappen started 21st on the grid after an engine-related grid penalty. Hadjar took his third podium of the year.
Norris won the 2025 world championship. Stella said the only thing he needed to know about Sunday's podium was that his driver was okay.
