Guenther Steiner was less than impressed by Lando Norris, who chose to drink a can of Coca-Cola after the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver took the chequered flag in third place at the Madring, last weekend.
Norris started the race from pole, but an ill-timed VSC handed the lead to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who cruised to his eighth win of the season.
After 53 laps under the sweltering European sun, Norris cracked open a can of Coca-Cola in the cool-down room.
But perhaps as the soft drink giant’s rival, Pepsi, was F1’s official sponsor, he was asked to quench his thirst away from the cameras.
Norris was heard replying, “I just did a race, so I’m allowed to drink what I would like. Thank you so much.”
Speaking on The Red Flags podcast, Steiner told the Briton off for his lack of professionalism.
“If you are a professional, you don’t do that. End of story,” he 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**t.”
Steiner: Lando Norris’ Coca-Cola antics were “not the smartest thing to do”
After this bizarre cool-down room moment, many believe it was a genius marketing gimmick, possibly for Coca-Cola.
While the brand does not sponsor the Woking-based team, it has had a history of repping McLaren.
Steiner, however, believes that whatever the intentions, it wasn’t the “smartest” thing for Norris to have done.
“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 added.
“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.”
Heading into the Azerbaijan GP weekend, Norris currently sits fourth in the drivers’ standings, having already racked up two wins for McLaren so far in 2026.
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