What the Hungarian GP failed to deliver during the race, it made up for in the post-race celebrations. After one of the most exciting and mixed-up qualifying sessions of the season on Saturday, the race didn’t quite reach the same excitement levels. With Max Verstappen finishing 33 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in second, it was a typical race Sunday for Red Bull, with Sergio Perez in third. With Red Bull breaking McLaren’s 1988 record of 11 consecutive wins, everyone thought that would be the headline of the race weekend. But Norris ensured he stole the limelight after accidentally breaking Verstappen’s $45,000 porcelain trophy. And, well, his shenanigans received a lot of attention.
After the chaotic podium celebrations, McLaren posted a video of the incident playing out and apologized to Red Bull and Max for it. Later, Max posted a series of pictures with his broken trophy on his Instagram, captioning the post, “Thanks @landonorris 🏆😉” While Lando posted the post on his story and wrote, “Sorry. Not sorry,” he made it a point to apologize to Max on his post, writing, “I’m so sorry 😂🙏” While his comment was garnering a lot of attention, it was Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly Piquet’s comment that had everyone’s interest piqued. She wrote, “@landonorris hope you have better form tomorrow 😂” But what was happening “tomorrow”?
lando at penelope’s birthday party!! 🥹🩷 pic.twitter.com/82hTg87v3s
— comfort lando (@safeforlando) July 26, 2023
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Max and Kelly threw a star-studded fourth birthday party for Piquet’s daughter, Penelope Kvyat, two days after the race. And who was on the guest list for the special occasion? You guessed it. Lando Norris. The McLaren driver not only destroyed Max’s trophy but also jokingly blamed the Dutchman for it. But from the looks of it, Kelly seems to have accepted his (rather half-hearted) apology and invited him to one of the most important occasions for her and Max.
If Lando has any hopes for an invite next year as well, he might have to ensure he doesn’t break any more of Max’s trophies. But for now, his crime seems to have been undone, not just because he got invited to the party but also because of a kind gesture on the trophy company’s part.
Lando Norris doesn’t need to worry about Verstappen’s trophy anymore
After the incident, Norris blamed Verstappen for the damage, saying that Max placed the trophy too close to the edge of the podium step. But Christian Horner firmly believes that it was entirely Norris’ fault. After hearing how expensive the trophy was and how long it took to make, he even joked that he’d send the bill to Lando. But Norris might not have to feel too guilty about the broken trophy anymore since Herend Porcelain Manufactory Ltd. is making Max a replacement.
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🗣️ | Christian Horner about the broken trophy:
"It was firmly Lando's fault that knocked it over apparently, and I just heard it's about €60.000 euros worth of damage that he's done so uh, and it took six months to make.. I should send him the bill, it's only fair since he… pic.twitter.com/MfcLxajlTL
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) July 25, 2023
The 97-year-old company’s CEO, Attila Simon, was asked who he thought would be held accountable for the damages. He replied, “The teams have to clarify that among themselves.” But he confirmed that Herend would be delivering another one to Max. “We now have the joyful but also heavy burden of making another trophy.” Even though one trophy takes six months to make, Simon mentioned the company would give Verstappen the replacement earlier.
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Do you think Lando Norris showed better form at Penelope’s birthday party?
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