Damaged trophy! Max Verstappen takes home broken prize after bizarre incident at Hungarian GP

In this Sunday’s Hungarian GP, ​​Max Verstappen was the winner and unfortunately had to take home a damaged trophy after a curious incident. During the celebration, Lando Norris dropped and broke the piece, but the manufacturer promised to replace the damaged prize. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the first case of a broken trophy in Formula 1, as even Verstappen’s team boss Christian Horner and his rivals Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo have also experienced similar situations in the past.

In 2015, during the Hungarian GP, ​​Daniel Ricciardo won third place when he represented the RBR team. However, when giving interviews after the race, the Australian ended up dropping his trophy, which luckily was made of silver and did not suffer serious damage.

RBR achieved its first victory in Formula 1 at the 2009 Chinese GP, in the debut of the German Sebastian Vettel for the team. On the podium, boss Christian Horner represented the winning constructor, but during the ceremony, the handle of the team’s trophy came loose, causing the piece to be lost and leaving the cup unsupported.

Curious F1 moments

It is curious how unusual incidents can occur even in celebrations of victories in Formula 1, making celebrations memorable for both drivers and teams.

At the 2008 Chinese GP, Lewis Hamilton won an important victory by overcoming the Brazilian Felipe Massa, in the penultimate stage of the championship. That victory paved the way for his unprecedented Formula 1 title, which he would go on to win in Brazil at the next race. However, during the podium celebration in Shanghai, the bottom of Hamilton’s cup dismantled, making the moment somewhat unusual.

Alain Prost, in 1989, the year of his third championship, won his last victory at the Italian GP. The race was held in the territory of Ferrari and the fervent Italian crowd, known as “tifosi”. After the triumph, the McLaren driver performed a remarkable gesture by throwing the trophy to the public below the podium, as a nod to the fans he would represent in Formula 1 from 1990 onwards. Unfortunately, the trophy piece ended up broken in this episode, but was replaced by a replica made to order by Prost himself.

_{Alain Prost hates Carlos Reuteman (Photo: Reproduction/@a.prost/Instagram)}

These stories illustrate how moments of celebration can become memorable in Formula 1, both for sporting triumphs and unexpected events involving the trophies.

Other memorable moments

The Formula 1 awards ceremony has provided comic and curious moments over the years, adding lightness after the tension of on-track disputes. Let’s recall some of these peculiar episodes:

In 2013, Australian Mark Webber said goodbye to F1 at the Brazilian GP. The race was won by his RBR teammate Sebastian Vettel. After the race, Webber took off his helmet to feel the wind on his face on the track and, as he climbed the podium, he had a historic fall, kissing the ground. The moment became a meme, providing a touch of humor to the pilot’s farewell.

Another curious episode also occurred in Brazil, in 2003. Giancarlo Fisichella took the lead shortly before a serious accident involving Fernando Alonso. With the race closed, the rule at the time determined that the result of two laps before the closure was worth. Fisichella passed Kimi Raikkonen a lap short of the red flag, and on the podium, Raikkonen was mistakenly announced as the winner. However, after 12 days, it was proven that Fisichella was already leading the race two laps before the interruption, and thus, he received the winner’s trophy.

Featured photo: Max Verstappen receives the trophy after victory. Playback/@maxvestappen1/Instagram