Lando Norris has insisted that he’s fine after a bizarre, slapstick sequence of events on the Brazilian Grand Prix podium.

The reigning world champion drove a masterful race in changing conditions to take an impressive third win of the season ahead of Max Verstappen, but everything went wrong after he was presented with his winner’s trophy.

The Brit leapt down from the top step of the podium and slammed the bottom of his Jeroboam of champagne onto the floor – his standard trick to get it to fizz up more violently than the traditional ‘shake and spray’ approach – only for the 3 litre bottle to shatter, leaving him bewildered and holding just the neck.

With circus music presumably playing in his head, Norris then stumbled straight into the path of the small pyrotechnic machine which was shooting eye-catching sparks up into the air, looking utterly disorientated.

F1 HEADLINES: ‘Devastated’ Hamilton seeks Ferrari answers as John Elkann steps in

Norris opens up on champagne problems

Norris’ main message when speaking on a Twitch stream on Monday? Little firework-looking things to the side of the head, not painful. Champagne being sprayed into your eyes from multiple directions, painful.

Speaking to his viewers, he said: “How’s my ear? My ear is fine, thanks for asking. The problem is, everyone’s like, ‘Why did you walk into it?’ It’s because I got sprayed with champagne in my eyes, then I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t see where I was going.

“I don’t think people realise how much it hurts and stings having champagne in your eyes. I didn’t know where I was moving and, all of sudden, it just gets pretty warm on my ear. It felt pretty warm.

“I couldn’t see it, so I just felt it there. I was already in shock that my bottle broke, for the first time in my life. But it didn’t hurt. I just felt something on my ear. I thought it was a fly.

“It didn’t hurt. I’m hard as nails! I hit my bottle, I then had a little moment where I was like, ‘Oh my God, my hand is gone’.”

This is Norris’ second champagne-bump celebration incident in F1, infamously smashing Max Verstappen’s €40,000 Hungarian Grand Prix trophy with the same move back in 2023. Maybe…time to retire that one?

READ MORE: Martin Brundle responds to Hamilton vs Leclerc claim with blunt four-word verdict

READ MORE: Ted Kravitz raises alarm over absent Red Bull figure: ‘This isn’t usual’

Liam Lawson is still waiting to find out if he has an F1 seat for 2027 after another super show at Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old New Zealander has been terrific this season, and he added another stellar drive to his 2026 highlight reel by claiming a P7 finish at Interlagos.

It topped off another excellent weekend for the young Kiwi, who had started on the second row after qualifying in P5 and then having grid penalties promote him further.

While Lawson didn’t have the pace to hang on to his lofty P3 starting position he got ahead of race winner Lando Norris in the early stages and was again the best of the rest in F1’s fierce midfield battle. He finished P8 on track but was moved up a slot when Ferrari star Charles Leclerc was penalised for bumping him.

Lawson stands ninth in the Drivers’ standings with 89 points – some 51 ahead of rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad. Despite his performances though Racing Bulls have still to confirm he will return again in 2027.

F1 HEADLINES: Max Verstappen slams ‘disaster’ Red Bull as Liam Lawson contract decision savaged

READ MORE: John Elkann steps in as Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc rivalry threatens Ferrari

Lawson on support: ‘I would love it if it was more from a team!

As speculation about a potential promotion for Bulgarian prodigy Nikola Tsolov continues, Lawson admits he is not sure what else he can do to prove his worth at this stage.

“I appreciate all the support I’ve seen over the last few weeks,” he said.

“It’s honestly really nice to see. Obviously, I would love it if it was more from a team! But at the moment, I’m just trying to enjoy driving the car because with everything else going on, I don’t really know what else I’m meant to do.

“I don’t know what else I’m meant to say to you guys. I’m just going to keep driving and yeah, see what happens.

“I feel like Alan’s [Permane, Racing Bulls team principal] been extremely supportive to me, and I appreciate that a lot, and I have enjoyed working closely with them and with the team this year. But obviously it’s a big organisation.”

Racing Bulls maximised Interlagos opportunity

Lawson was satisfied with his finishing position at Interlagos, feeling he and the team had not left points on the table.

“I feel like we maximised today. I had a strong race. I would have liked it to stay wet the whole race. It would have been cool. I probably would have had more of a shot there.

“But at the moment, we’re topping the midfield as a team, and that’s what we’re targeting every weekend.”

Lawson honest about where he stands in F1 pecking order

Lawson is also honest about where Racing Bulls are lacking when they do get a chance to compete at the front of the grid.

“I mean, crazy race. Honestly, I had a really good start. Good grip in Turn 1. Obviously made up a place, and then to be honest, I was thinking I might try and attack Kimi [Antonelli] at some point in the lap,” he added.

“But yeah, just once the pace stabilises, they’re a lot quicker than us, and we started to pull back.

“We were damaging our tyre, I think, quite a lot more than them. And then I think the pace on the dry was okay.”

READ MORE: F1 Brazilian Grand Prix results changed as FIA announce post-race penalties

READ MORE: Ferrari star demoted at Brazilian Grand Prix as FIA confirms post-race penalty

The FIA has confirmed a 30-place grid penalty for Red Bull star Max Verstappen ahead of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

At this stage of the season, several drivers and teams are going beyond their allowance when it comes to power unit components, with Verstappen and several others doing so in Sao Paulo this weekend.

In Verstappen’s case, the FIA has confirmed that he has taken a fifth new internal combustion engine (ICE), a fifth new turbocharger (TC) and a fifth new exhaust set (EXH).

As a result of this, the FIA have confirmed that the four-time world champion has been hit with a 30-place grid drop, with each component carrying a 10-place punishment.

With that in mind, Verstappen did not even risk going out for much qualifying action in the wet on Saturday, advancing through Q1 but qualifying P16 after failing to set a lap time in Q2.

With other penalties on the grid, the FIA has confirmed that Verstappen will line up P21 for lights out in Sao Paulo, one place above Sergio Perez and one place behind Lewis Hamilton, who are also serving penalties.

F1 HEADLINES: Lewis Hamilton ‘sent a message to Italy’ as major Ferrari risk exposed

Why is Hamilton starting ahead of Verstappen at Brazil GP?

Like Verstappen, Perez’s has a 30-place grid drop after taking a new ICE, TC and MGU-K, but Hamilton starts ahead of both of them despite taking a completely new power unit and a 75-place grid drop.

This is because Article B2.5.4(b)(iv) of the 2026 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations states that “classified drivers who have accrued more than 15 cumulative grid position penalties will start behind any other classified driver. Their relative position will be determined in accordance with their qualifying session.”

This means that once a driver’s penalties exceed 15 places, they are automatically moved to the back of the grid, and if multiple drivers are in that situation, their starting order is then determined by how they qualify, not by how big their penalty is.

That is why on Sunday, Hamilton, who qualified P11, will start ahead of Verstappen and Perez, who qualified P16 and P21, despite his penalty being 45 places more severe.

Other F1 stars dealt penalties in Brazil

The penalties do not stop there. Charles Leclerc will line up P14 after taking a 10-place grid penalty for fitting a new ICE, while a change of the same component sees George Russell line up seventh, having qualified in P2.

Russell’s penalty is less than that of others taking a new ICE in Sao Paulo as he already exceeded the limit of four ICEs for the season at the Singapore Grand Prix, where he was hit with the same 10-place grid drop others are facing this weekend.

READ MORE: FIA confirm HUGE Lewis Hamilton penalty at F1 Brazilian Grand Prix

READ MORE: Qatar GP track issues shelter instructions in case of military attack ahead of F1 weekend