The best day of Lando Norris’ life threatened to turn into a nightmare ending after a painful slip up at Silverstone.
The Glastonbury-born Formula 1 driver won his first-ever British Grand Prix, mastering the wet and chaotic conditions to close the title gap on teammate Oscar Piastri.
The celebrations were wild and a family affair post-race, but when he went back out to enjoy it with the fans, he had to head back early.
The McLaren driver went to the pitwall to show his trophy to supporters, but as he approached a photographer fell and struck him on the face.
The 25-year-old then made a U-turn, clearly in pain, with staff pointing to their noses to indicate the problem.
Footage appeared to show part of the pitwall failing which led to an individual slipping backwards and into Norris.
The Brit had finished his media duties for the day and was heading back out to show fans his trophy – a particularly unique one made of Lego.
Fans had flooded the main straight for the podium celebrations, and many stuck around long after to get up close with their hero.
Norris – not just a rising star in F1 but also part of the elite – was celebrating his eighth win, closing the championship gap to teammate Piastri to just eight points.
A huge star on social media, he did so with his own stand at Silverstone as diehards turned up in their own section.
Yet after seeing their hero throughout the weekend, they weren’t able to witness him with the trophy thanks to the painful slip up.
Norris was likely planning to replicate countryman Lewis Hamilton who started the trend of leaning over the pitwall with his silverware.
He’d had to pick up the baton after Hamilton’s record 11-year podium streak at Silverstone came to an end.
The Ferrari driver just missed out on the top three, but couldn’t have done it to a more fitting rival – Nico Hulkenberg.
The German had the most unwanted record in F1 of a massive 238 races without a podium, but managed to hold off Hamilton in fourth despite driving a Sauber – arguably the slowest car on the grid.
Meanwhile, four-time champion Max Verstappen ended up fifth after an unusual error where he slid out of second place during a safety car restart.
Norris’ triumph at Silverstone was McLaren’s first win at British Grand Priz since Hamilton won in 2008.
And the delight was there for all to see on Norris’ face in his immediate post-race interview, which saw him swear on live TV.
He said: “Oh wow. It’s beautiful. Everything I dreamed of, I guess. Everything I’ve ever wanted to achieve.
“Apart from a championship, I think this is as good as it gets in terms of feelings and in terms of achievement, being proud, all of it.
“This is where it all started for me, and now thankfully I’ve been able to have my go.
“Incredible race, stressful as always, but the support from the fans made the difference today, so I’ve got to thank them for it all.
“Your mind just goes pretty blank. Everything you might think before the race, you forget.
“The main thing is just don’t f*** it up, that’s rule number one.
“The last few laps I was just looking into the crowd.
“I was just trying to take it all in, enjoy the moment, because it might never happen again. I hope it does.
“But these are memories that I’ll bring with me forever. An incredible achievement.”
