Max Verstappen clinched his 19th victory of the 2023 Formula 1 season at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July. However, the celebratory mood took an unexpected turn when Lando Norris accidentally knocked the winner’s trophy to the floor during the traditional post-race champagne spraying.
Verstappen’s dominant performance throughout the season secured him the drivers’ title, finishing nearly 300 points ahead of his teammate, Sergio Perez. The Hungarian Grand Prix was anticipated to be a close battle with Lewis Hamilton, who had secured pole position in qualifying. Unfortunately for Hamilton, a poor start off the line cost him positions, allowing Verstappen and the McLarens of Norris and Oscar Piastri to overtake him.
After crossing the finish line for his seventh consecutive victory, Verstappen received a ceramic trophy, a tradition for the Hungarian Grand Prix. On the podium, alongside Norris in second place and Perez in third, the customary champagne spraying began. However, Norris, known for hitting his bottle off the podium to open it, accidentally struck Verstappen’s trophy, causing it to topple and break into several pieces.
Despite the trophy mishap, the celebrations continued, with Norris occasionally glancing back at the broken trophy as the champagne flowed. Verstappen’s remarkable season, marked by numerous victories, culminated in a mix of triumph and an unexpected moment of trophy drama in Hungary.
The official McLaren Twitter account apologised for Norris’ carelessness. And the Red Bull team account responded in good humour, writing on social media: “We can’t take you anywhere! Glad to have you up there with us though. We’re gonna need some glue.”
Norris initially joked that it wasn’t his problem and that Verstappen had placed the trophy too close to the edge. He was more contrite in later media commitments however, saying: “First of all, I do want to apologise for it. I obviously had no intention in ever doing such a thing.
“I know how much it means to the Hungarians and part of their culture… and I did apologise to Max. I know I made a couple of jokes about which maybe I shouldn’t but I do feel bad for (him).
“If he did it to my trophy I’d be annoyed. I do apologise for it and obviously to the people who put the time and effort into making it, I really didn’t mean for it to happen. I’ll make sure I’m a lot more careful next time.”
Fortunately, the trophy mishap at the Hungarian Grand Prix didn’t overshadow Max Verstappen’s successful season. After the incident, Verstappen received a replacement trophy, and a photo alongside a presumably more cautious Lando Norris marked the resolution of the unexpected podium mishap.
The trophy incident certainly didn’t derail Verstappen’s championship aspirations. Over the subsequent 11 races, the 26-year-old secured victory an impressive 10 times. With such a dominant performance, it seems likely that Verstappen will continue to add more triumphs to his collection in the years to come, further solidifying his position as a force to be reckoned with in Formula 1.
