If you’ve been following the press stories about the Russian Grand Prix, you will have noticed one very distinct headline: Hamilton soaks Putin with champagne. Lets get to the truth of this story.
Earlier this season, Lewis Hamilton was under fire about spraying the hostess with champagne during one of his signature champagne spraying sessions from the top step of the podium. Hamilton once again finds himself in the center of the media for his champagne spraying talents in Russia.
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, made his annual appearance on the podium, presenting Hamilton with the Russian Grand Prix winner’s trophy. Once the presentation of the trophies concluded, Hamilton’s favourite line was broadcast on the P.A. system: “And now… the champagne!”
Like he does whenever he is on the podium – unless it is on the bottom step in Monaco – Hamilton let the champagne flow from the bottle. His first aim was at the team members below the podium, but he quickly turned his focus to his fellow drivers on the podium. While doing so, he turned clockwise and accidentally spraying the fleeing Putin in the back of his suit.
Putin was far enough away that the damage was minimal and he was not “soaked” as other news sources have been reporting. The media has taken advantage of some deceiving photos of the podium presentation that make it appear as though Hamilton was directly spraying Putin. That was not the case.
This has not stopped fans on social media from joking about Putin putting a hit on Hamilton. There are certainly no hard feelings between Putin and Hamilton and Hamilton shouldn’t be in any danger. I guess you just can’t stop the press from taking a story and running with it.
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