Last month, we covered the saga of Max Verstappen’s first-place trophy at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The handcrafted porcelain trophy, which a team of 30 workers helped craft, was caught up in the podium celebration. As Lando Norris executed his traditional champagne pop — with the second-place finisher hammering his bottle of bubbly on Verstappen’s podium to open it — the trophy tumbled off Verstappen’s podium, breaking in the process:
We now have a critical update on when Verstappen can expect a replacement.
According to Dr. Simon Attila, CEO of Herend Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt., the company that manufactured the trophy, Verstappen should be receiving a new one at the end of September.
“Production began at the beginning of August, and painting and gilding are currently underway,” said Attila to Hungarian outlet Formula.Hu. “We will be ready by the end of September at the latest.”
“We appreciate the positive feedback from F1 fans and thank you for remaking the broken trophy replacement for free. This also confirms that we made the right decision when we undertook to replace the broken piece free of charge,” added Attila. “We operate effectively and profitably, continue our cultural mission and play a significant role in building a positive national image. In accordance with our promise, we will prepare the replacement of the broken trophy free of charge and we are waiting for the moment when we can hand it over to Max Verstappen.”
Formula.Hu journalist Sándor Mészáros also shared this photo of the new trophy in production:
As for whether Norris — who apologized for the incident but is proving to be a bit of a menace on the podium — would be touring the facility anytime soon, Attila shared that while there has been no communication with the driver as of yet, anyone is welcome.
“We always welcome everyone to the [manufacturer’s] visitor center to get to know the extremely high level of professionalism of manual porcelain painting and porcelain making and the process of value creation in Herend,” said Attila. “We have had no communication with his team regarding Lando Norris’ visit, we are currently focusing on remaking the trophy.”
Perhaps that trip will happen when the season is over.
As for Verstappen and Red Bull, maybe this will put to an end their recent luck with trophies.
