Christian Horner ‘sending bill’ to Lando Norris after Hungarian Grand Prix gaffe

Red Bull chief Christian Horner says he is “sending the bill” to Lando Norris after the McLaren star shattered Max Verstappen’s winners’ trophy in the aftermath of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Verstappen moved 110 points clear at the top of the F1 Drivers’ Championship standings after winning his ninth race of the season, with Norris finishing second.

Verstappen had placed the porcelain trophy on his winners’ step as he celebrated the result alongside Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who had come third. But an overexuberant Norris decided to open his champagne bottle by smashing the bottom of it against the step. And the action ended up knocking the trophy to the floor.

The trophy was unable to withstand the force of hitting the ground and broke into pieces, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. And Horner insists it will be Norris who foots the bill.

“I think it was firmly Lando’s fault that knocked it over apparently,” Horner told the F1 Nation podcast. “I’ve just heard it’s about 60,000 euros worth of damage that he’s done. And six months [to make] – so obviously I said, ‘send them the bill.’ It’s only fair – he knocked it over.”

Norris and Verstappen were seen joking about the unfortunate incident on the podium moments after it had happened. And the Briton later said during an interview: “Yeah, just hold it [Max]. It fell over I guess. Not my problem – it’s his.”

But Verstappen hit back: “You said it was my fault? I give you a red card. I will go to Zak [Brown, McLaren CEO] because he has got some spare money for the personnel in the team, so he can spend it on a trophy.”

Despite the gaffe, Verstappen won’t miss out on having another piece of silverware in his trophy cabinet as the company who made the porcelain prize, Herendi Porcelain Manufactory, have already confirmed that they will produce a replacement. “It is with great regret that we learned yesterday that the beautiful Herendi trophy, a handmade work of art, was damaged,” the firm’s chief executive Attila Simon told M4 Sport.

“It is the result of nearly six months of work by more than 30 people and we were very sorry to see this happen to our artwork. But we believe, and Herendi Porcelain Manufactory is a company that plays a key role in building the country’s image, that we will replace the trophy for the first place winner. And while the teams decide who was at fault and who was not, we will take on the joyful and heavy burden of this.”