Handle with care – Trophy mishaps throughout Formula 1’s history

For Isack Hadjar, the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix was unforgettable. Yet instead of posing with a pristine piece of silverware after a memorable first F1 podium, the rookie found himself clutching half a trophy after it broke during a post-race photoshoot.

He brushed it off with a shocked grin, but the broken cup placed him in a chaotic little club of drivers whose victories resulted in shattered silverware.

Italy 1989: Prost’s Tifosi toss

While Hadjar’s trophy mishap was an accident, Alain Prost’s Monza moment was a deliberate act of theatre.

After winning for McLaren in 1989, Prost hurled his trophy into the sea of Ferrari Tifosi below the podium – the same fans he’d be driving for the following year.

They tore it to pieces for keepsakes. Ron Dennis, Team Principal of McLaren at the time, was fuming on the pit wall and proceeded to slam the Teams’ trophy at Prost’s feet in retaliation.

It was the original “broken trophy” moment, and one that still sums up the drama of F1.

Hungary 2023

Max Verstappen’s 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix victory was another infamous example of a broken trophy. But it wasn’t his own doing.

During the podium celebrations, Lando Norris popped his champagne with trademark flair, only for the bottle to knock over Verstappen’s Herend trophy. The delicate hand-painted porcelain trophy toppled to the floor and shattered at the base.

The moment was pure podium drama – Norris cringing in disbelief, Verstappen managing only a weary shake of the head, and the crowd gasping as luxury fragments littered the stage.

A replacement was commissioned, but the broken original joined the lore of F1’s most memorable mishaps.

Belgium 2023: Déjà vu for Red Bull

Just one week after Verstappen’s porcelain trophy was smashed in Budapest, Red Bull found themselves having similar problems.

At Spa-Francorchamps, their Constructors’ prize didn’t make it out of the track intact, as it was flattened during the jubilant team photo when a pit board toppled onto it.

The team’s smiles froze as the dented silverware lay in the gravel, another casualty of celebratory chaos.

Verstappen’s reaction was as dry as it was perfect: “It’s broken again.”

The line instantly became a meme, and a reminder how, even in the most dominant of seasons, Red Bull struggled to keep their trophies safe from slapstick fate.

Great Britain 2025: The LEGO edition

During Formula 1’s 75th season, Silverstone swapped traditional silverware for bespoke LEGO trophies, each built from thousands of bricks by master builders in Denmark.

McLaren’s team prize, a dark blue and gold creation, looked wonderfully intricate – if a little fragile.

Moments after the podium ceremony, that fragility became apparent. The trophy fell backstage and smashed into pieces, leaving McLaren’s technical director scrambling to collect up the pieces.

Fans quickly noticed that, like the car, it needed a pit crew to put it back together.

Brazil 1989: Nigel Mansell’s Bloody Victory

Few podium stories are as gritty as Nigel Mansell’s first race with Ferrari at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Writing himself off before the lights even went out, Mansell had already booked an early flight home, expecting his car’s new semi-automatic gearbox to fail. Instead, he defied the odds, stormed to victory, and gave Ferrari a dream debut.

But the celebrations came with a twist. While lifting the hefty winner’s trophy, Mansell cut his hand badly on its sharp edges.

Blood streamed down as he waved to the crowd, turning a remarkable triumph into an almost gladiatorial scene. It was equal parts heroic and human, proof that even the sweetest victories can sting.