SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (Reuters) – Red Bull suffered a second trophy malfunction in a week on Sunday after the one handed to the winning constructor at the Belgian Grand Prix was broken after a celebratory team photograph.
The race marked Red Bull’s record 12th win in 12 races this season, making them the first Formula One team to achieve such a run in a single year.
In Hungary last Sunday the porcelain race winner’s trophy handed to Max Verstappen toppled off the podium and smashed after McLaren’s Lando Norris popped his champagne by bashing the bottle on the ground.
“It’s broken again, the trophy’s broken again,” Verstappen, who has now won eight in a row and leads the championship by 125 points, shouted in footage posted by Red Bull on Instagram.
Video showed team members rushing towards the camera as others sprayed cans of Red Bull. As they ran, a pit board toppled onto the trophy placed in front of it.
“Ready for summer-BREAK,” the team commented, with the video showing team members trying to reassemble it. “Don’t worry we could rebuild this one and it’s on its way to Milton Keynes.”
Formula One is starting its August break following the race at Spa-Francorchamps.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
