Lando Norris really said, “If I can’t have it, no one can.” After McLaren’s surprise resurgence in the past few races, Norris stood on the podium for a second consecutive race, finishing P2 at the Hungarian GP. And both times, Max Verstappen was on the top step. But apart from Verstappen’s repeat appearance, the two podium celebrations had something else in common, too—the fate of Max’s trophies. On both occasions, Lando did his trademark smash-the-bottle-on-the-podium champagne celebration, and both times, it led to Max’s trophy falling off the podium. But at the Hungarian GP, Norris’ mischievous celebrations also broke the trophy, and the young Brit did not hold himself accountable.
The Hungarian GP trophies are special. Handcrafted and made from porcelain, the $45,000 masterpieces are produced by Herend Porcelain Manufactory Ltd. Considering they’re made of porcelain, Max’s first-place trophy unsurprisingly broke when it fell. And when Norris was asked how the trophy fell at the post-race press conference, he said, “Max just placed [his trophy] too close to the edge. It fell over, I guess. Not my problem. It’s his!” Even though he blamed Verstappen for it, he and McLaren apologized to Red Bull and Max later that night. And while Norris suggested it could be glued back together, Herend Porcelain has other plans.
I had the chance to talk to Herendi's CEO Attila Simon on Monday. When I asked him what happens if someone broke it, he said "we are ready to react, no worries". 2/2#f1 #Hungaroring #HungarianGP #NorrisGate
— Sándor Mészáros (@mesandor) July 23, 2023
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As reported by motorsport-total.com, when Herend Porcelain CEO Attila Simon was asked who would be held accountable for the trophy’s damage, he said, “The teams have to clarify that among themselves.” [Translated by Google] But for now, the company is working toward making Verstappen another one. Simon continued, “We now have the joyful but also heavy burden of making another trophy.”
Considering how intricate each trophy is, it takes almost six months to make each one. But as per reports, the production for Max’s replacement trophy is already underway, and Simon hopes to get it to Max earlier than six months. The 97-year-old company is helping undo Norris’ crimes, and although he said it was Max’s fault, he tried to make amends after.
Lando Norris almost apologized to Max Verstappen for his crimes
After all the celebrations and their cool down, Verstappen posted a series of pictures on Instagram, captioning the post, “Thank you, Lando Norris.” Norris shared the post on his story and wrote, “Sorry. Not sorry.” But he followed that story with another one that featured a picture describing the Japanese Kintsugi technique used to repair broken pottery. Maybe that was his way of taking some accountability for what happened. But it wasn’t just Max and Lando engaging in banter. Their teams joined in too.
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i adore him 😂 pic.twitter.com/FLGeJa6Ime
— comfort lando (@safeforlando) July 23, 2023
McLaren posted a video on Twitter that showed the entire series of events, right down to Lando’s reaction to breaking Max’s trophy. The Papya team captioned it, “We are so, so sorry…@redbullracing and @Max33Verstappen! 🫣” Red Bull joined in on Max and Lando’s banter and asked McLaren for a simple favor in return, replying, “We’re gonna need some glue 👀”
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Do you think McLaren and Lando Norris should pay Herend Porcelain for Max’s trophy?
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