Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had a controversial Hungarian GP filled with McLaren’s team orders and looked arguably agitated on the podium. Regardless, it didn’t stop Piastri from protecting the P1 trophy from Norris’ celebration shenanigans. Max Verstappen had already been a victim and the Aussie did everything to protect himself from becoming one.
“I know Lando’s History with Hungarian trophies”, said Piastri during an interview while talking about protecting his trophy at the Hungarian GP. The host asked the Aussie, “We saw you jumping in, hold it when he did his champagne smash”. Piastri replied, “I’ve seen it unfold before. I was not letting it happen to me. There was a good reason for that.”
Im so glad our pretty P1 trophy went home with him ☺️ pic.twitter.com/aT4L92OClM
— eniko RACE WINNER OSCAR PIASTRI (@verstap1astry) July 23, 2024
Norris broke Verstappen’s 2023 Hungarian GP win trophy during his iconic celebration of popping champagne by banging the bottle on the podium. The force was so intense that it shook the podium and Verstappen’s P1 trophy fell down and broke into pieces. Nonetheless, the Dutchman received a new trophy months later.
Piastri was wary of the same threat. The 2023 shenanigans didn’t stop Norris from repeating the champagne pop celebrations this year in Hungary. However, the 24-year-old was a little wiser this time around and slammed the bottle on the floor and not the podium. Yet, Piastri was holding onto the trophy for dear life as it was his first win in F1.
Nonetheless, Norris was apologetic for his actions when he broke Verstappen’s trophy. The Briton apologized to all those involved and even paid a visit to the factory where the special trophies are made.
Norris’ visit to the Hungarian GP trophy factory and related helmet tribute
Norris wore a special helmet at the 2024 Hungarian GP in collaboration with Herend Porcelain, the same brand that makes the trophy for the race at Hungaroring. The helmet featured artwork similar to that seen on the trophies.
The idea of the helmet came to the #4 driver later during the 2023 season and the process for designing the helmet began about eight months before the 2024 race. Norris revealed how he visited the factory and looked at how each of the artworks is hand-painted onto the porcelain.
Norris incorporated the art into his helmet and apologized for breaking the trophy in 2023. It takes multiple months to make a single porcelain trophy and costs somewhere around $45,000 for the Herend factory.
