‘I hope it’s the last’ - Norris on his first ‘Shoey’ experience
Norris finished second behind Ricciardo at last weekend’s Italian GP at Monza as McLaren secured its first win since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, and the team’s first 1-2 victory sine Canada 2010.
As a ‘reward’ for his brilliant drive, Norris reluctantly took up Ricciardo’s offer to drink out of his shoe as the Australian and McLaren CEO Zak Brown carried out the famous ‘Shoey’ celebration on the Monza podium.
The 21-year-old joked it was his first “and last I hope” as he became the latest driver to get in on the act following Ricciardo’s eighth grand prix victory.
“It was… yeah… tasted alright,” said Norris when asked how he found his first-ever ‘Schoey’.
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) September 12, 2021
“Not a big fan of that kind of drink anyway, so I wouldn’t… when you have the addition of it coming out of a shoe, from Daniel, where his sweaty foot’s been for the last two hours.
“That’s really not something I advise for other people to try ever, and I hope I never have to do it again. But I did say. I think we said, at the beginning of the year or sometime that if we were on the podium together I would do it.
“So I stood by it and was happy to do it. Zak did it as well. I think he really did love it. It was cool, a cool experience. It’s a good memory for everyone. As much as I hated it, I did enjoy it.”
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who joined the McLaren pair, managed to avoid taking part, just as he did when he shared the podium with Ricciardo following his win at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“No never done it,” Bottas said. “Always managed to dodge it.”
The revelation came as disappointing news to Ricciardo, who responded: “No way! I thought you’d done it! That’s why I didn’t give it to you.”
Among those to have partook in a ‘Shoey’ include Mark Webber, Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, Nico Rosberg, Martin Brundle, Sir Patrick Stewart and Gerard Butler.
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