Racing Bulls issues statement as Brazilian GP podium video circulates

Henry Valantine
A Racing Bulls crew member was caught on video as Lando Norris received the trophy for winning the Sao Paulo GP.

A Racing Bulls crew member was caught on video as Lando Norris received the trophy for winning the Sao Paulo GP.

Racing Bulls has issued a statement surrounding a video circulating during the podium ceremony at Interlagos.

Fan-filmed footage shows a person in Racing Bulls uniform performing a ‘thumbs-down’ gesture as Lando Norris received his winners’ trophy at Interlagos, with some fans behind booing the McLaren driver.

Racing Bulls: Podium footage ‘doesn’t reflect our team’s values’

Racing Bulls have issued a public statement off the back of an incident that occurred post-race in Interlagos, as Norris collected the trophy for winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

A video on social media shows what appears to be a Racing Bulls team member in parc ferme turning to face the crowd and perform the ‘thumbs down’ gesture while holding their phone, as McLaren driver Norris was receiving his trophy.

After a couple of seconds, another Racing Bulls staff member appeared to put the person’s arm down, to stop it from continuing.

Fans on social media picked up on this moment and circulated the video, while the team has issued a proactive response to assure fans that Racing Bulls believes in the community nature of the paddock, looking to celebrate everyone in the sport.

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“We’re aware of the video from the weekend’s podium,” Racing Bulls posted on X on Wednesday morning.

“It doesn’t reflect our team’s values or the spirit of VCARB.

“The matter has been handled internally. We believe in celebrating great racing and showing respect to every driver, team, and fan both on and off the track.”

 

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been vocal in his support of stamping out online abuse in the motorsport world, with the governing body’s United Against Online Abuse campaign looking to work with social media companies to keep conversation respectful online.

It was a positive weekend for Racing Bulls on the track, with Liam Lawson managing a mammoth 52-lap stint on the same set of tyres to finish the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in seventh, while teammate Isack Hadjar came home one place behind in eighth.

Racing Bulls sits sixth in the Constructors’ standings heading into the final three races, 10 points clear of Aston Martin.

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