The global stage: the 2025 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix podium, choreographed to the second. Every brand, every gesture, every second of screen-time carries weight.
The recent Singapore Grand Prix should have been remembered for the victory of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS on the top step of the podium, with George Russell taking the chequered flag. It should also have been remembered as the moment McLaren secured the Constructors’ Championship. Instead, it has become remembered for a different image: the President and Group CEO of PETRONAS, magnum of Moët & Chandon in hand, caught on international broadcast spraying champagne as if he were a winning driver.
The incident has since drawn criticism and an apology, which was necessary. Yet the larger question remains. What was gained, and what was lost, when PETRONAS’ brand was projected, for two long minutes, through the imagery of champagne spray.
Formula 1 is not simply a sport. It is a global media product, choreographed to the second, in which every logo, every backdrop, and every gesture is designed to create value. When the PETRONAS CEO took centre stage with a magnum of Moët & Chandon, what PETRONAS risked, Moët gained. One brand saw its equity tied to the dignity of a national oil company; the other secured global exposure in precisely the celebratory context it has long paid handsomely to own.
What PETRONAS risked, Moët gained. A national oil company’s dignity tied, in an instant, to a champagne label immemorialised by Getty Images.
The issue is not morality, whether real or performative. It is optics, the question of how corporate leadership embodies the stature of the institution it represents. Picture this: Amin Nasser of Aramco, Darren Woods of ExxonMobil, Mike Wirth of Chevron, Wael Sawan of Shell, Patrick Pouyanné of TotalEnergies, Murray Auchincloss of BP, Magda Chambriard of Petrobras, Anders Opedal of Equinor, Claudio Descalzi of Eni. Can we imagine any of these global CEOs climbing an F1 podium, Moët magnum in hand, to spray champagne.
Leadership is not exercised only in boardrooms, strategy papers or multi-year investments. It is also measured in the split-second moments that matter disproportionately, when instinct collides with the weight of representation. On a stage as visible as Formula 1, the margin for error is almost non-existent. In those seconds, what is done or not done can reshape perception far beyond the moment itself.
PETRONAS has long aspired to stand among the majors. That stature is not measured by sponsorships or trophies alone, but by the restraint and gravitas of its leadership. Optics matter, because in the eyes of global investors, peers, and partners, they signal whether a company is led with the dignity befitting its scale.
Formula 1 delivers the rarest of stages, where every second has global reach. On that stage, the measure of ambition is not whether we are seen, but how we are seen.
Moments of exuberance, but also moments of representation. Leadership is tested not only in boardrooms, but in the split-second images that travel worldwide.
Malaysia deserves assurance that PETRONAS will continue to embody the decorum and dignity worthy of its hallowed name. For PETRONAS does not stand only as a sponsor of motorsport, but as the custodian of a national symbol and a global player whose reputation must command respect in every arena.
For what PETRONAS risked in Singapore, Moët gained, and that exchange, above all, must never be repeated.
📌 Footnotes
1. Singapore Airlines Singapore F1 Grand Prix 2025: The race was won by George Russell driving for Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, with McLaren securing the Constructors’ Championship in the same weekend.
2. Podium protocol: Traditionally, the podium is reserved for the top three drivers and occasionally the representative of the winning Constructors’ team. On this occasion, Tengku Muhammad Taufik represented PETRONAS and Mercedes on the podium.
3. Moët & Chandon: Official champagne supplier to Formula 1 since 1966 (with brief interruptions). Every podium ceremony is choreographed to include its brand exposure.
4. Global oil majors: CEOs referenced – Aramco, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, BP, Petrobras, Equinor, Eni – are the benchmark comparators for PETRONAS’ aspiration to global stature.
5. Getty Images circulation: The photo of Tengku Taufik spraying champagne has been syndicated by Getty Images, ensuring enduring visibility beyond the initial broadcast.
Editor’s Note: The footnotes are provided solely to situate the commentary in factual context. This essay does not question personal integrity, but reflects on institutional optics and the symbolism of leadership on a global stage. The images referenced are part of the public domain of Formula 1’s official broadcast and syndicated media.
Musings of the (occasional) thinker; planner; do-er 