After Max Verstappen claimed the GT3 victory at the Nordschleife in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie alongside his team-mate, British driver Chris Lulham, his podium celebrations took a hilarious turn. As the four-time Formula 1 champion readied himself for the champagne showers on the podium, he struggled to open the bottle, leaving fans in hysterics.
“And you’d think he knows his way round a champagne bottle by now considering all the practice he’s had in F1,” one fan commented on the video shared by Motorsport.com, while another added, “All that podium [sic] in F1, still having a hard time opening a champagne.”
In Verstappen’s defence, the corks are usually loosened before being presented to the drivers in F1. So, his experience of 120 podium finishes in the championship couldn’t help him at the Nordschleife. Other series don’t prepare the bottles in the same way, leaving the drivers to remove the cage and cork.
“GT3 you have to open bottle yourself hahaha only thing he wasn’t prepared for,” wrote another commenter.
“He’s a rookie it’s his first win maybe he doesn’t know how to spray champagne yet,” read another comment, while another joked, “Max’s toughest opponent this entire weekend.”
The Dutchman took the victory on his debut in the series. After starting third on the grid, he quickly took the lead before Turn 1 and continued to extend his lead before he handed over to Lulham, who brought it home in first. Following the duo, Dennis Fetzer, Jann Mardenborough and Fabio Scherer in the No. 9 Ford Mustang GT3 for Haupt Racing Team finished second, while Vincent Kolb and Frank Stippler brought the No. 6 Ford Mustang GT3 for Haupt Racing Team home in third.
“It was great,” Verstappen said after winning the race. “During my first two stints, the car was amazing. After qualifying, I knew the car would be good on a dry track. Everything went well in terms of traffic, and we didn’t make any big mistakes. To win my debut race here is amazing.”
Verstappen now heads to Singapore for the 18th round of the 2025 F1 championship. He heads to the Marina Bay Street Circuit after clinching back-to-back victories in the Italian and Azerbaijan grands prix, putting him back in the drivers’ championship fight against McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
