M'sia Petronas CEO gets backlash for champagne celebration at S'pore F1 podium over alcohol use

The President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Petronas, Tengku Muhammad Taufik, recently drew criticism online from Malaysians for participating in a champagne shower on the F1 podium to celebrate, reported the Malaysia Gazette.

The incident took place on Oct. 5 after Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver George Russell won the race.

F1 podium celebration

CEO Petronas, Tengku Taufik on podium celeb the constructor winner#SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/oVMPm1GPlZ

— 𝑮𝒊𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒆 (@joezaluchi) October 5, 2025

As the team’s title sponsor, Tengku Taufik represented Petronas in receiving the trophy and was seen on the podium spraying and being sprayed with champagne alongside the winning team.

Alcohol shower shocks netizens

The viral footage has drawn largely critical responses on Malaysian social media.

However, there were also others who chimed in to remind people that this was a non-issue as he was not consuming the alcohol and that it was something that could be commonly found in everyday objects such as perfume.

Political condemnation

The youth wing of Malaysia's political party Bersatu has since issued a statement condemning the act, calling it insensitive for a Malay Muslim leader representing a government-linked company to participate in an alcohol-related celebration.

A youth wing leader said the act appeared to normalise alcohol use at official events involving government-linked corporations (GLCs).

He noted that the champagne used was Moët & Chandon, the official Formula 1 celebratory drink containing 12 per cent alcohol.

“As a Malay Muslim corporate leader representing Petronas, he should have left the podium during the champagne spraying event and returned afterwards to take pictures with the winners.”

He added that while Armada was proud of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team’s victory, the group found the champagne shower “embarrassing for the country,” especially as several other Muslim-majority nations such as Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also active participants in Formula 1.

The youth group urged the Prime Minister to issue a warning to all ministries, government agencies, and GLCs to uphold Malaysia’s position as a Muslim-majority nation.

Official statement

In Formula 1, the champagne spray has been a long-standing tradition used to celebrate the top three finishers.

In recent years, some races hosted in Muslim-majority countries have opted to use non-alcoholic sparkling drinks in place of champagne to respect local customs.

While F1 has since partnered with French Bloom, which is its official non-alcoholic wine brand, the champagne sprayed on the Singapore podium is understood to have been the alcoholic Moët & Chandon champagne.

As of press time, Petronas and Tengku Taufik have not issued a public statement on the matter.

Top image via pirelliusa/Instagram, beINSPORTSAsia/Youtube