A seemingly innocent moment in the Spanish Grand Prix cooldown room has sparked debate after Lando Norris was seen sipping a Coca-Cola. Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner didn't hold back, calling it unprofessional.
Norris finished third at the Madring circuit after starting from pole, losing the lead due to a poorly timed virtual safety car. In the cooldown room, the McLaren driver was spotted drinking a Coca-Cola. With rival drinks company PepsiCo holding an official partnership with F1, an official asked him to put the drink down. Norris firmly replied, "I just did a race, so I'm allowed to drink what I would like. Thank you so much."
The moment quickly went viral, with many fans praising Norris for his authenticity. But Steiner saw it differently. Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, he said, "If you are a professional, you don't do that. End of story. You know what you can do and what you cannot do. You're well trained. He shouldn't have done it. Is it a bad thing that he did it? Will somebody get hurt? No. But as a pro, you shouldn't do it. But he has done it. And you know what? I couldn't give a s***."
When asked if it was because of Pepsi's partnership with F1, Steiner added, "It's all going by categories. They sell it and obviously if you don't pay, you cannot have it. And he had a Coke. It was not the smartest thing to do. But as I said, I don't care because now, for Coca-Cola, it worked out pretty good. It was pretty good for them. If they wouldn't have said anything, nobody would have even noticed, but because it was so bumped up now it's a thing, and now Coca-Cola is laughing."
Despite the controversy, Norris sits fourth in the drivers' standings with 186 points, 106 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli. The Coca-Cola moment may be a footnote, but Norris's focus remains on track performance.
Steiner, now a pundit, is known for his no-nonsense opinions. This isn't the first time he's criticised a driver's professionalism. However, for many fans, Norris's action showed his human side after a gruelling race. Whether this affects his sponsor relationships remains to be seen.
Baca Juga
Analisis mengapa F1 tak perlu ubah aturan usai Lando Norris kehilangan kemenangan di GP Spanyol karena Virtual Safety Car. Simak ulasan lengkapnya.
Fernando Alonso sebut penalti Carlos Sainz sudah tepat setelah insiden yang membuatnya finis ke-17 di GP Spanyol. Aston Martin terpuruk, Stroll juga DNF.
Rating pembalap F1 GP Spanyol 2026: Norris tertinggi meski finis ketiga, Antonelli juara. Simak analisis lengkap dan rating pembalap di sini.
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