Lando Norris causes huge headache after £35k Hungarian Grand Prix trophy clanger

24 July 2023 , 10:03

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Lando Norris causes huge headache after £35k Hungarian Grand Prix trophy clanger

Lando Norris stunned the Formula One world on Sunday when he smashed Max Verstappen's trophy after the Red Bull driver won the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Brit finished second behind Verstappen and ahead of third-place Sergio Perez - and the trio celebrated their successes on the podium. After the national anthems, they were handed their champagne and began the traditional spraying of one another. But that was when things got out of hand.

Norris hit his bottle off the podium and accidentally forced the trophy off the top step. Footage shows the trophy break into several pieces. But the celebrations carried on regardless, with Norris nervously glancing behind him at the broken trophy several times as the champagne continued to flow.

As for the trophy itself, it took six months to make and the company behind the design seemingly had a contingency plan in place should the worst case scenario occur. McLaren immediately issued an apology for the incident, while Red Bull took it very light-hearted and seemed to laugh it all off.

But the company who made the trophy may not have taken it the same way. According to Hungarian F1 journalist Sandor Meszaros, all trophies for the Hungarian Grand Prix are handmade by Herend Porcelain Manufactory and take half a year to put together.

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They also cost around £34,577 to make, although it is understood the company, who have been around since 1826, had prepared for the trophies to smash. Herend's CEO Attila Simon said: "We are ready to react, no worries."

It is understood that there is a lifetime replacement guarantee for all of the company's product - and production of the replacement was underway on Sunday night. Having said that, Norris' actions have no doubt caused a headache for the production firm.

Not quite how Red Bull would have imagined the trophy would look in their cabinet (Getty Images)

Verstappen, however, didn't seem too unhappy with Norris after the race. Norris stated: "Max just placed it too close to the edge. It fell over, I guess. Not my problem, it's his. That's Max's trophy. Mine is in perfect shape. I happily broke it! I was annoyed I was P2."

Meanwhile, Verstappen won his seventh F1 race in a row and was a very pleased man after climbing out of his car. "The car was good on any tyre. We could look after the tire wear and, basically, that’s why we could create such a big gap," he said of his fearsome RB19.

And, reflecting on a new F1 record for his team, the Dutchman added: "Twelve wins in a row is just incredible. What we've been going through the last few years is unbelievable and, hopefully, we can keep this momentum going for a long time."

Kieran King