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Champagne Problems: Can Under-21 Kimi Antonelli Pop Bottles On US Podiums? | Rookie Road
Champagne Problems: Can Under-21 Kimi Antonelli Pop Bottles On US Podiums? | Rookie Road
Formula 1 is thrilling on track but often confusing off it — a maze of regulations, strategy and engineering that can leave fans playing catch-up.
Rookie Road aims to bridge that gap, connecting with newer followers and exploring this fast, furious and occasionally frustrating sport, one story at a time.
If Lewis Hamilton’s long-awaited first Grand Prix podium with Ferrari was going to be overshadowed by anything, of course, it had to be Kimi Antonelli’s maiden P1 in Formula One. Because in this sport, serendipity is inevitable.
One year after he stepped into Hamilton’s giant shoes at Mercedes, the Bologna-born teen proved that Team Principal Toto Wolff was absolutely right to replace “a seven-time world champion with a child".
The ‘child’ schooled the grid in dominant and devastating fashion at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday, successfully converting his pole position start to become the second-youngest race winner in F1 history.
It was a podium come true for Wolff – Antonelli on P1, George Russell on P2 and “still-our-boy" Hamilton on P3. Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, Antonelli’s current (and Hamilton’s former) race engineer, completed the ‘Wolff Pack’ at the podium.
As I watched the foursome douse each other in champagne, I couldn’t help but wonder – will Kimi Antonelli, who turns 20 in August, be allowed to enjoy such spirited celebrations in countries where the legal age of drinking is not 18?
In most F1 destinations, the legal drinking age is 18. The exceptions are Japan, where the legal drinking age is 20, and Miami, Texas, and Las Vegas, where — like the rest of the US — you can’t buy or drink alcohol until you are 21.
And then, of course, there are the Middle East countries with even stricter rules about alcohol consumption in general.
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Quick reminder here that Antonelli turns 20 this August. He will still not be of legal drinking age when he races around Japan’s Suzuka circuit later this month. And, of course, he will be a full year short of the legal drinking age at the US races.
So, can a driver not of legal drinking age celebrate with champagne on Japanese or American podiums?
Past is not prologue in this case, since these Grands Prix have historically belonged to experienced drivers. But it’s a shallow investigation nonetheless.
Short answer – nothing stops Kimi Antonelli from celebrating with champagne if he makes it to the Japanese or American podiums this year.
In the US, alcohol consumption to a certain extent is allowed during sporting events. A Formula One podium is a controlled ceremonial moment. A driver below 21 is not buying the booze, nor is he being served in a bar/restaurant. Moreover, the celebration with champagne is symbolic, where most of it is sprayed instead of being sipped. A token gulp for the cameras will not be F1’s biggest controversy in the Year Of Our Dark Lord, the MGU-K. The same goes for Japan.
Antonelli himself joked last year that would be content just spraying as long as Valterri Bottas (reserve driver with Mercedes back then) did the sipping in Miami. But the Finn is driving for Cadillac this year, so the teenager will have to look for a new ‘designated drinker’ this season.
But this tipsy detour led me down the rabbit hole…
Motorsport’s first champagne spray was at Le Mans in 1966 when Swiss driver Jo Siffert accidentally sprayed spectators after the cork shot out of the bottle because of the heat. American winner Dan Gurney recreated the moment a year later and deliberately shook the bottle.
In Formula One, a bottle of Moët was awarded to race winner Juan Manuel Fangio after the 1950 French Grand Prix held at Reims, a circuit near one of the centres of the Champagne region.
Triple world champion Jackie Stewart first sprayed champagne on the F1 podium, again by accident, after the Briton won the 1969 French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand. “Nobody told me the bottle had been left lying in the sun, and so, as I released the cork, the champagne foamed out," he said years later. “I thought it would be a shame to waste any, so I pressed my thumb over the top, but this only increased the pressure and produced a powerful jet of champagne."
Stewart instinctively started spinning around, spraying the champagne in all directions, giving birth to the iconic spectacle.
Out of respect for the alcohol consumption rules in Muslim countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, F1 switches to non-alcoholic celebrations like rose water or non-alcoholic sparkling drinks.
Too bad we won’t get to see the virgin fizz in action in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia this year, since the races have been called off due to the ongoing West Asia war. Ah well, we’ll drink to/through that, I guess.
Not all F1 podiums have seen champagne celebrations. The revelry has been abandoned at Grands Prix struck by tragedy, the darkest weekend being the 1994 San Marino GP.
Over that weekend, Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna lost their lives in separate crashes, casting a long shadow over the sport. When the race ended, the usual champagne-soaked celebrations felt almost out of place, tempered by grief. It was a moment that reminded the sport — and its fans — that some victories are too heavy to celebrate.
In 2015, the Japanese Grand Prix was held under a subdued cloud, a year after Jules Bianchi’s fatal crash at Suzuka. Though the race went ahead as normal, the paddock remained reflective, with drivers mindful of the risks the circuit carries. The podium celebrations felt more restrained than usual, lacking their typical exuberance. It was a quiet reminder that even in triumph, Formula One does not forget its losses.
Despite such moments, Formula One podiums are usually known for their eccentric celebrations, the weirdest one being…
Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career may have been cut short prematurely, but the talented Australian driver gave the sport one of its most iconic celebrations — the shoey.
Across his 32 podium finishes, including 8 race wins, Ricciardo delighted (and disgusted) fans by drinking the champagne out of his sweaty race shoes. Yum.
And guess what? The charming Aussie later even enticed the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and McLaren team boss Zak Brown to join in on separate occasions.
But surprisingly enough, Ricciardo wasn’t the madman who pioneered the iconic celebration. The signature gesture was actually inspired by Australian surfers and fishermen known as the Mad Hueys.
Kimi Antonelli may still be too young for a legal drink in parts of the world, but on a Formula One podium, he’s already earned the right to spray it. His raw talent steering the rocket-ship Mercedes have built this year means the sport may have to get used to that image — a teenager, bottle in hand, rewriting both records and rituals.
That is, unless one Scuderia Ferrari have something to do about it.
Source: News18
Related Posts: Kimi Antonelli, F1 podium champagne, legal drinking age F1, US Grand Prix rule, Kimi Antonelli age, Formula One traditions
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