The British F1 driver’s clumsy podium celebration took out his Dutch rival’s handmade prize, which took six months to make
While Max Verstappen was as dominant as always at Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the Red Bull Formula 1 driver left with a smashed trophy, courtesy of McLaren’s Lando Norris.
After cruising to victory at the Hungaroring, Verstappen was celebrating with champagne while Norris attempted his now-trademark method of opening the bubbly – bashing the base on the ground to maximise the fizz.
Unfortunately, the impact of the bottle on the top step of the podium wobbled Verstappen’s handmade trophy over, causing it to fall to the floor and smash into several pieces.
The trophies for the race are made by a Hungarian porcelain manufacturer called Herend, which has been making fine ceramics since 1826. The trophy Lando smashed was handpainted, decorated with 18-carat gold and took six months to make. The estimated cost? 40,000 Euros, or around £35,000. Ouch.
Norris leant into the mishap, claiming (with a sheepish grin) that he “happily” broke it and didn’t care. “I was annoyed I was P2,” he joked. “Max put his trophy in the wrong place. It’s Max’s fault.”
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 23, 2023
Luckily, Verstappen and Norris and friends, and no hard feelings were expressed by the Dutchman. McLaren also apologised on Twitter.
That said, Mercedes driver George Russell proposed a 10-second penalty for Norris at the next race in Spa. Seems fair.
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