Louise McEwan: It turns out I can spray champagne!

      A year ago, Louise McKeown became the 11th woman in the history of Formula 1 to step onto the podium and participate in the awards ceremony. Louise is the marketing director of McLaren Racing, and when the team’s drivers secured a winning double on May 4, 2025, she was the one who took part in the awards ceremony and accepted the trophy, which is now displayed in a special showcase at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.

      In an interview with the team’s press service, Louise shared her memories of those days.

      “When I think back on it, I still feel the excitement,” she said. “It happens once in a lifetime. I was working in the paddock at the Miami racetrack with the team’s business partners when I received a message from Zak Brown: ‘If we win, you’ll go up on the podium.’

      For the first few seconds, I thought it was a joke. I never really considered that I would be destined to go up on the podium. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought it might not happen, but above all, I was worried about something else: if it did happen, I didn’t even know what to do. The awards ceremony is usually very well organized, but there are no rules about it.

      I felt immense pride for the team, but I didn’t want to let anyone down. First of all, the champagne bottle is really very big, and I doubted whether I would be able to spray it? Also, there are protocol moments – where do I need to stand? What should I do? All these questions were swirling in my head while I was waiting for the race results.”

      Then, when Oscar won that Miami Grand Prix and Lando finished second, Louise was driven from the closed park to the podium, but she had already given her phone and everything else that could be seriously damaged if those things got soaked in champagne to her colleagues, as advised.

      “I had to wait for a while, which made me even more nervous,” she continued her story, “but then I calmed down a bit when I ran into an old acquaintance: Jenson Button was there, with whom I once worked at McLaren, and we chatted a bit. I asked him if he could give me any advice, and he just said: ‘Smile and try to enjoy it as much as possible.’

      I also asked Mark Norris, a McLaren veteran who now leads our commercial department’s team working at the races, to accompany me, and I’m very grateful to him for being with me. Talking to him helped me focus while I was waiting.

      Then we were told to follow the drivers as they went to the podium. When Lando and Oscar saw me, they asked, ‘Are you coming with us too?’ and smirked. That’s when I realized I had a problem. My situation was made worse by the fact that both of them would be spraying champagne on me…

      I remember stepping up to the podium and taking a deep breath, and when I looked around, I saw all those journalists and photographers standing in a wall, but I tried not to focus on that. I looked down – there was a whole sea of orange, as almost the entire team and McLaren partners I worked with that weekend had gathered, and they were all waving at me. I just wanted to wave back.

      And only later, when my phone was returned to me, did I read on social media that I had become the 11th woman in the history of Formula 1 to appear on the podium. I didn’t even know that and was just proud to be part of the team that won the race.

      All of this became an incredibly vivid reminder that changes are happening in our sport. Let’s hope it inspires many girls and shows what opportunities may open up for them in the future. That moment will forever remain one of my most cherished memories.

      By the way, as it turned out, I know how to spray champagne! I had never practiced it, but it’s actually quite simple. It turns out the champagne had already been shaken up, and the effect is just explosive! But if the drivers are wearing caps at that time, their eyes are somewhat protected, while yours are not. And when the spray gets in your eyes, it really, really hurts!

      I remember I knew I should open my eyes, but they were really stinging. I also remember that I wanted to hold the trophy for the team’s victory with one hand, like the drivers do, but it turned out I had to hold it with both hands…

      All my clothes were completely soaked, and although there’s not much pleasant about that, the experience became one of the most incredible I’ve had in my life!”

      It’s worth adding that Louise simply didn’t have time to change and take a shower because she was late for her flight, and the head of McLaren’s marketing department arrived for her London flight just as she came down from the podium in Miami…