Racing Bulls issue apology for F1 team member’s controversial Brazilian GP act

Racing Bulls have issued an official statement, after an incident at the Brazilian Grand Prix involving F1 championship leader Lando Norris.

British star Norris claimed his seventh victory of the season at Interlagos, thrashing his competitors all weekend long to take a commanding lead in the drivers' championship.

However, when he celebrated atop the podium, a smattering of boos could be heard among the fans at the track, just two weeks after he had been widely booed in Mexico after winning there.

There are differing accounts as to why Norris is being booed around the world, but a widely circulated video on social media from the Brazilian GP weekend appeared to show a member of another team riling up the crowd.

A Racing Bulls team member was putting a thumbs down to the crowd as Norris was lifting his trophy, and was corrected by another Racing Bulls team member who seemed to pull their arm down.

Now, Racing Bulls have responded to that video after being tagged by various social media users, releasing a statement on the incident via X.

"We’re aware of the video from the weekend’s podium," the statement read. "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."

Why has Norris been getting booed?

While Brazil's booing was relatively small scale, the boos in Mexico were some of the loudest we've heard for any driver at any track throughout 2025, and an event at the circuit on media day on the Thursday showed Mexican fans booing Norris before he had even completed a session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

It's widely thought that boos in Mexico and Brazil have been fuelled by events earlier in the season, in which a controversial incident saw Norris gain extra points in his championship battle with Oscar Piastri.

Amid their fierce championship battle, Piastri was 34 points ahead of Norris heading into the Italian GP, but emerged with that lead at just 31. At that race in Monza, however, a botched pit stop from McLaren on Norris' car meant that Piastri overtook his team-mate for second, and was due to once again extend his championship lead.

McLaren then opted to enact team orders to swap the two drivers around, allowing Norris to secure that second spot in what was a six-point swing in the championship. Norris has since gone on to take a commanding lead himself in the standings, now leading Piastri by 24 points.

The boos are thought to be part of a feeling that McLaren 'gifted' Norris those three points in Monza and are therefore not overseeing a fair championship battle, something that McLaren will argue was at the heart of their decision to switch the two drivers, with the team not wanting a botched pit stop to determine which one of their drivers wins the title.

READ MORE: Norris booed AGAIN at Brazilian GP

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