Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner has criticised Lando Norris’s Coca-Cola cooldown room moment following the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, claiming it was unprofessional of the McLaren driver.
After finishing third at the Madring circuit, Norris was seen drinking a Coca-Cola in the cooldown room. With rival drinks company PepsiCo having a partnership with F1, an official asked the 2025 champion to put the drink down. He firmly responded: “I just did a race, so I’m allowed to drink what I would like. Thank you so much.”
The moment quickly became a talking point online, with many fans praising Norris. But Steiner argued during The Red Flags Podcast that he shouldn’t have done it.
“If you are a professional, you don’t do that. End of story,” the former team chief said. “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***.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Federico Basile
Steiner added when asked if it was because of Pepsi’s partnership with F1: “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 [Coca-Cola]. 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.”
Norris finished the race in third after starting from pole position and losing the lead during an ill-timed virtual safety car. He currently sits fourth in the drivers’ standings with 186 points, 106 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
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