Petronas CEO Apologises For Champagne Gaffe At F1 Podium

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Many are critising Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik for taking part in the “champagne shower” on the Formula 1 podium in Singapore on 5 October 2025.

The incident occurred when George Russell, representing the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, won the race and Tengku Taufik represented the team on stage to receive the Winning Constructor Trophy.

As F1’s custom is to have a champagne shower on the podium, Tengku Taufik was sprayed with the drink as well and it was caught on video.

Pictures show that he remained on stage and posed for pictures with everyone on the podium at the time.

Additionally, there’s another related issue people are debating about.

On 4 September 2025, F1 announced that Moet Hennessy’s French Bloom will be the event’s official alcohol-free sparkling wine partner. Based on the official website, this sparkling wine is served across all F1 operated Paddock Clubs and the F1 garage, and “planned in other hospitality spaces”.

For some people, they did not believe the champagne Tengku Taufik was sprayed with was the non-alcoholic sparkling wine.

Nevertheless, many are not happy with Tengku Taufik’s actions. A user claimed previous Petronas CEOs usually leave the podium to avoid the “champagne shower”.

Responding to the criticism, Tengku Taufik issued a statement addressing the matter tonight (7 October).

He said what happened was spontaneous, but he admitted that it may have been misplaced.

He reiterated that as a Muslim he did not consume any alcohol.

However, Tengku Taufik said he should have been more aware of the sensitivities associated with taking part in such celebrations.

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