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Steiner brands Norris's Coca-Cola cooldown room stand 'unprofessional' after Spanish GP

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has called out Lando Norris for drinking Coca-Cola in the post-race cooldown room at the Spanish Grand Prix, where rival brand PepsiCo holds an official F1 partnership. Norris, who finished third in Madrid, refused to put the drink down when asked by an official.

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Steiner brands Norris's Coca-Cola cooldown room stand 'unprofessional' after Spanish GP
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Guenther Steiner has labelled Lando Norris’s decision to drink Coca-Cola in the Spanish Grand Prix cooldown room “unprofessional”, wading into one of the more unusual controversies of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Norris, who finished third at the Madring circuit in Madrid after starting from pole, was filmed holding a Coca-Cola when an official asked him to put it down — a request that drew a sharp response from the McLaren driver.

“I just did a race, so I’m allowed to drink what I would like. Thank you so much,” Norris told the official, a clip that spread rapidly online and drew widespread support from fans.

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner was less sympathetic. “If you are a professional, you don’t do that. End of story,” the former Haas team principal 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.”

The incident carries commercial weight because PepsiCo holds an official partnership with Formula 1, meaning Coca-Cola is a competing brand in the sport’s sponsorship framework. Steiner acknowledged the distinction while stopping short of condemning Norris outright. “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.”

Steiner also noted the irony of the official intervention backfiring commercially. “Now, for Coca-Cola, it worked out pretty good. 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’s third-place finish in Spain was a frustrating result after he lost the race lead during an ill-timed virtual safety car from pole position. The 2025 champion now sits fourth in the drivers’ standings with 186 points, 106 points adrift of championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

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