In a light-hearted but unfortunate turn of events, Lando Norris, the McLaren star, unintentionally caused Max Verstappen’s winners’ trophy to shatter on the podium during the Hungarian Grand Prix celebrations.
The comical incident took social media by storm as F1 fans reacted with amusement to the unexpected mishap.
As the drivers celebrated on the podium, Lando Norris playfully banged his champagne bottle on the platform, but it inadvertently led to Verstappen’s trophy wobbling off the top step and crashing onto the ground.
Videos shared on social media captured the moment when the ceramic cup hit the floor, leaving the Red Bull star’s trophy in pieces.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
In response to the incident, McLaren quickly issued an apology to the reigning world champion on their social media platform, tweeting, “Sorry Max.”
Acknowledging the damage caused, Red Bull also humorously replied to McLaren’s post, saying, “We can’t take you anywhere, glad to have you up there with us though. We’re gonna need some glue.”
The Hungarian Grand Prix winners’ trophies are unique, being made of porcelain and crafted entirely by hand.
Each trophy takes approximately six months to produce and costs around £34,000 (€40,000).
Unfortunately, Verstappen’s trophy now joins the list of casualties from Norris’ podium celebrations.
F1 enthusiasts found the incident amusing, flooding social media with reactions.
One user commented, “I was wondering if anyone else caught this lol,” while another posted, “That’s the most Lando thing that could have happened.”
Another fan playfully reassured Red Bull, stating, “It’s okay team, I think Max has enough already.”
However, there were some who believed such incidents should be prevented in the future.
One suggested that the FIA should consider changing the podium policy to remove the trophies before champagne celebrations, preventing similar accidents from occurring.
This wasn’t the first time Norris found himself involved in such a situation. In a previous podium finish at the British Grand Prix, the British driver also managed to knock over one of the top-three trophies while celebrating with champagne at Silverstone.
Despite the light-hearted incident, Norris’ performance on the track was commendable.
He managed to outmanoeuvre Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race, securing a second successive P2 finish.
However, Norris acknowledged that McLaren still has a long way to go before challenging Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance in Formula 1.
READ: ‘Where did that go?’ Lewis Hamilton shocked by Red Bull losing special weapon
The 23-year-old driver, who has earned eight top-three finishes in his career, expressed optimism about the team’s progress.
Norris recognised the tremendous improvement they have made in recent races, going from struggling to get out of Q1 to fighting for pole positions and podiums.
While victory remains elusive for now, he remains hopeful, saying, “Our time will come later in the year, unless they make mistakes or something happens.”