Lando Norris laughs it off as FIA awards night moment sparks online backlash

Lando Norris was officially crowned as a Formula 1 world champion at the FIA Prize Giving Gala in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, but while fans celebrated the driver lifting his trophy for the first time, they were quick to comment on the exchanges between the McLaren driver and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. 

Just days after sealing the title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Norris appeared on stage alongside his team-mate Oscar Piastri, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, and team principal Andrea Stella. Visibly nervous, the driver walked onto the stage with a smile spread from ear to ear as Ben Sulayem greeted him. 

The Emirati lunged in to ruffle his hair, a move that was pulled apart by social media-goers. 

Norris responded at the time, saying, “I hope my hair is not too bad now. I put so much effort into that…”

The Briton then began his speech, addressing those from the motorsport industry who had joined them in the capital. 

“We had our fair share of mistakes and f**k-ups. Can I say that here?" he laughed as he looked back at Ben Sulayem, who fortunately played along. "Oh, sorry, yeah. I got fined. I can pay it off now!” 

The FIA president joked that he thought about a "€5000 fine" and added that after he messed up Norris's hair, he'd need the money to fix it. 

While those on stage and in the room were laughing, social media quickly picked up on what had happened. 

"Don't touch my hair bro," one commenter said as another believed it to be a 'power move' from the FIA head: "Power," they typed. "Norris obviously styles his hair. MBS messing with his hair is a power play. It says 'I am dominant and if I want to play with your hair I will.'"

Lando Norris, McLaren, Magui Corceiro

Photo by: Handout / FIA / DPPI via Getty Images

A third added: "The disrespect from Ben is crazy."

“Congratulations and thank you to McLaren," Norris said. "The team I've been with for many, many years on giving both of us an incredible car that at times made our life very easy, and beautiful, and we could bring home many wins all the way to the end of the season.

"Of course, Mr Piastri, the incredible team-mate that I've had, who has helped me improve so much over the last few seasons and made us the team that we are, allowed us to turn into the team winning two constructors' back-to-back.

"Of course, to Max as well, for challenging us the whole way, putting us under pressure, just doing what Max always does.

"It was incredible. Obviously this is a lot of people's dreams, a lot of racing drivers' dreams and I got to finally live it – live that one dream that I had when I was a little kid.”