In his latest appearance on the Unlapped program by ESPN, Christian Horner was openly critical of Lando Norris’ actions. Notably, Lando Norris broke the first-place trophy of Max Verstappen during the podium celebrations. It has been weeks since the Hungarian GP, where this incident took place. However, it seems like the Red Bull boss is still unhappy about the incident with the McLaren driver.
What happened at the Hungarian GP?
Lando Norris put in a superb drive in a resurgent McLaren. He finished on the podium behind Max Verstappen for the second race in a row. People following the McLaren driver’s races will know he has a peculiar way of popping the champagne. He hits the bottle against the podium steps and revels in the blast that pops up.
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We had a scare in the British GP itself where he knocked over Max’s trophy. That trophy managed to not break. The Hungarian Trophy was not so lucky. As soon as he knocked it over, the trophy fell and broke into multiple pieces. The cameras captured Max laughing when he saw the damage, while Lando sported a sheepish smile.
Christian Horner not happy
While the two drivers were fairly unbothered by the incident, the Red Bull boss saw the serious side of things. Along with the trophy’ value (about $44,500), Lando destroyed Red Bull’s opportunity to cherish the moment, according to Horner. He explained how team members like to pose with the trophy after a race. A few bits of porcelain from a broken trophy are sure to dampen those feelings.
When asked, he said that McLaren and Zak Brown are definitely paying for the damages. We believe that’s not the case because of a statement by Attila Simon, the CEO of Herendi Porcelain. This is the company that is responsible for making the trophies. Simon said each of the trophies comes with a lifetime guarantee, and a replacement is already underway.
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A lot of fans saw this incident as completely hilarious, which it admittedly was. However, many were unhappy with how Lando behaved after the incident. Many saw his words as petulant and disrespectful. This prompted the young Brit to issue a public apology later on. He said he knew how much the trophy meant to the Hungarian people, and his jokes shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Simon lamented the time his workers put in for the trophy. According to him, it takes 30 workers a total of 6 months to create this trophy. Therefore, a replacement will come at a great cost to him. He didn’t mind it, as he says he is happy to represent Hungarian tradition on a global stage.
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