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Lando Norris' trademark celebration went wrong on the Sao Paulo Grand Prix podium as it resulted in his winning bottle of champagne being smashed. Norris secured his first victory since the Dutch Grand Prix in August by capitalising on a Kimi Antonelli spin to win in Brazil, and he was delighted to return to the top step of the podium just seven days after it was confirmed he had lost his Formula One world champion status to the Italian.
The British national anthem was played out for Sao Paulo to hear as Norris and McLaren marked their return to winning ways. However, the rest of the podium ceremony very much did not go to plan.
The drivers picked up their champagne bottles ready to spray them, as is motorsport tradition. However, Norris has a rather unique way of opening his bottles, having developed a habit for hitting it against the ground to get the cork out.
Up to Sunday it had never presented a problem, but this was the exception as the bottle shattered on impact with the ground. Norris was left motionless, clearly stunned by what had happened.
For a few seconds he did not move and had his hand up to his race. Once second-placed Max Verstappen had noticed what had happened, he stopped spraying his champagne and came forward to check on his rival.
Fortunately, it didn't seem as though Norris had suffered any damage from the flying shards of glass. TV cameras cut to a close-up of his face and there did not appear to be any cuts to his skin, while his eyes were wide open.
And the broken glass did not pose too much of a safety hazard as soon the podium was taken over by Mercedes staff, celebrating their new status as constructors' champions. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell had a rough race on Sunday but were still beaming as they joined colleagues to mark their achievement.
Norris was the winner on the day though and, speaking before the podium ceremony, he recalled how tough it had been to survive a rain-soaked race at Interlagos. He said: "It was a very tough race, very very tough. I didn't have the best of launches off the line.
"A lot of challenges today with the conditions and going onto slicks in the wet is always tough, especially when you are pushing for the lead and trying to catch up a little bit. The main thing today was I kept it cool and didn't make any mistakes and had the pace when I needed to. Nice to be back on the top step and what a place to do it as well."
On ending his run of races without a win, Norris added: "I'm trying my best. This weekend we had an opportunity to get pole and an opportunity to win, and I feel like most times this year when there's been an opportunity, I've went for it and we've been able to achieve it.
"I have to say a big thanks to the team because they are still working very hard. It's annoying when you can't give them a good result back, like the last few weeks, but certainly this weekend I feel like we have been able to give something back to to them and give them a reward for their hard work. Always a big thanks to them and we will have to keep pushing until the end of the year."
Big moments. Packed grandstands. A championship battle that’s heating up.
When the Formula 1 season delivers like this, watching from home just isn’t the same as being there when the lights go out.
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