Champagne in F1: Ferrari champagne is bargain compared to previous brand

F1 podium celebrations are inextricably linked to champagne. The tradition of popping champagne was started in the 1960s and the sport has since built a special history with the bubbly drink.

Legend has it that five-time F1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio received a champagne bottle after a race win for the first time in the sport. After the 1950 French GP, this remained a silent tradition throughout motorsport, but in 1966, the cork accidentally flew off the bottle received by Jo Siffer for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The audience received an unexpected champagne shower. Dan Gurney did this wantonly the following year at the Le Mans and it was replicated in F1.

F1 and bottles of champagne

It is still a big part of honouring the top three after every race in Formula 1. In the 70-plus years of Formula 1, several types of champagne were sprayed. From 1966 to 1999, F1 used bottles from Moët & Chandon, then for 15 years bottles from G.H. Mumm hit the podium. From the 2017 Monaco GP until 2019, bottles from Carbon were used. Another year of Moët & Chandon came on the podium in 2020, and currently F1 has been doing it with Ferrari Trento since 2021.

With the Ferrari Trento, the podium ceremony seems a lot 'cheaper' than a few years ago. The three-litre Ferrari F1 Podium Celebration Bottle Jeroboam bottles sell for 299.00 euros. That means €1200.00 worth of champagne on stage with four bottles. That value is a pittance compared to the price of the Carbon bottles used in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Those bottles were almost three times more expensive apiece than the entire current podium palette; namely around 3,000.00 euros per bottle. Ferrari Trento still has a contract with F1 until 2025.

One last fact, by the way, is that F1 did not always use three-litre bottles on stage. It started with the 1.5-litre Magnum bottles. The three-litre Jeroboam bottles used now have more than four times the capacity of a normal bottle; one bottle contains an average of 24 glasses. So then there is more than enough to provide a hefty champagne shower and also enjoy a festive and deserving glass of bubbles.