Why do the winners of the Grand Prix drink milk at the Winner's Circle?

Question

Basically I want to know why the winners of the Grand Prix drink milk at the Winner's circle. and when did this originate and how?

Answer 1

I've never seen any winners in F1 drink milk in victory lane. It's only done at the Indy 500. Cavallino Silver has it right.

Answer 2

That's not an F1 tradition.

They drink milk with muesli for breakfast, who drinks milk for dinner?

Answer 3

... milk is an Indy 500 tradition. I think it was Fittipaldi who broke it once and drank orange juice, but I'm not sure. They drink a bottle of milk. I know because I played an old DOS game called Indy 500, complete with pixelized graphics of the driver drinking milk.

"This practice first began in 1936 after Victor Louis Meyer asked for a glass of buttermilk, something his mother had encouraged him to drink on hot days. Afterward it became a ritual as milk companies became sponsors of the race purse and handed a bottle of milk to the winner to promote their product.[4] A sponsorship of currently $10,000 now paid out by the American Dairy Association if the winner swigs the milk in victory lane. Among Indycar drivers, Emerson Fittipaldi is infamous for drinking orange juice instead after his 1993 victory, before he drank the customary milk. Fittipaldi owned citrus farms in Brazil, and wished to promote his industry."

Answer 4

They don't. They drink champagne. Dan Gurney was the first to spray it.