The moment Lewis Hamilton realised he wasn't drinking champagne on Bahrain GP podium

With a sport that has over 72 years of history, some things become ritualistic at an F1 race weekend.

Every fan comes to expect the sight of the lights going out, a first lap incident, the occasional Safety Car and the winner being honoured with podium celebrations with aggressive champagne spraying.

Well, maybe not always the latter.

The podium at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix saw historic Ferrari returning to former glory after a domineering performance throughout the race and claiming both first and second place, with seasoned champion Lewis Hamilton taking third.

But Ferrari’s revival wasn’t the talking point of the podium. It was actually the champagne, or lack thereof.

Bahrain, like many Middle East countries, have strict laws on alcohol and bans drinking in public. Due to this, the champagne on the podium had to be substituted. Previously, the Bahrain Grand Prix has given rosewater to its top three competitors, but after Sunday’s race, Hamilton commented that the drink was something much more ordinary.

While Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc both took a swig of the ‘champagne’ to celebrate their finishes, Hamilton was seen telling Leclerc ‘It’s 7 up.’

Both laughed at the substitution of the traditional magnum bottles, which cost up to $3000, being replaced with the lemonade soft drink.

For countries with looser rules on alcohol consumption, the current F1 ‘champagne’ is a sparkling wine supplied by Ferrari-Trento. Astonishingly, the brand isn’t related to the sport’s own Scuderia Ferrari and was founded prior in 1902.

With strict alcohol rules in place in Saudi Arabia, it seems that a soft drink will also be present on the podium at the Jeddah-Corniche circuit.

As for the drivers, with a new