Red Bull Racing

MAX VERSTAPPEN was left stunned after his grand prix trophy was broken for a SECOND race running.At the Hungarian GP last week, Lando Norris cracked a piece off the Dutchman’s award when he slammed a champagne bottle into it while celebrating on the podium.
Max Verstappen celebrated his win with his Red Bull teamCredit: Twitter @redbullracing

As champagne bottles were popped, Verstappen saw his trophy damagedCredit: Twitter @redbullracing
And the Belgian GP trophy appeared to suffer a similar fate on Sunday.
Verstappen, 25, breezed to an eighth successive victory as he finished 22 seconds ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.
During the post-race antics, a host of Champagne bottles were popped immediately after the Red Bull garage posed for photos.
As Verstappen raced away to try and take cover, he left his trophy behind.
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And amongst the chaotic scene, his gong suffered some damage.
The two-time world champion turned around to get a look at his trophy, before shouting: “It’s broken again.”
It was a minor hiccup in an otherwise perfect weekend for the championship leader.
Verstappen now has 10 wins from 12 races in the 2023 season – and 45 in his F1 career.
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A victory at his home grand prix in Zandvoort at the end of August would see him equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins.
And he is also on course to break his own record of 15 wins in a single season.
He boasts a huge 125-point lead over Perez – with Fernando Alonso a further 40 points adrift. More

MAX VERSTAPPEN apologised for a foul-mouthed rant at his race engineer during Belgian Grand Prix qualifying.The Dutchman scraped through the second qualifying session at a soggy Spa in tenth having initially struggled in his all-conquering Red Bull.
Max Verstappen endured a disastrous second qualifying run at the Belgian Grand PrixCredit: Rex
Verstappen, 25, went on to finish 0.8 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc but was stripped of pole position after landing a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
As he crossed the line, Verstappen had drawn a line over his spat with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase by saying: “Sorry for the rant.”
He earlier fumed over his team’s radio: “I should have just pushed two laps in a row like I said.”
Lambiase replied: “But you are through Max…”
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Verstappen snapped back: “I don’t give a f*** mate if I’m through in P10. Just s*** execution.”
Lambiase cut back: “And when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down?
“You tell me what you want to do in Q3, and we’ll do it. Let me know. Sets, fuel, run plan.”
Leclerc starts on pole tomorrow and Verstappen SIXTH — with a separate sprint race taking place today.
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Verstappen admitted later: “The conditions were tricky and I was lucky in Q2 to be in P10 but in Q3 I could push more.
“I know I will drop back with the penalty but I did what I could. We know the car is quick even in these conditions.”
Despite the sanction, the world champion is eyeing an eighth consecutive F1 victory, having won here from much further back in 2022.
He said: “Last year, I started 14th and this year the car is better, so I am still aiming to win the race.”
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Verstappen apologised to a race engineer for his X-rated rantCredit: Alamy
Despite being on pole, Leclerc does not expect to be a match for either Verstappen or Sergio Perez, with the Mexican second on the grid.
Leclerc said: “I am not confident, I have two Red Bull guys behind, who have a much faster race car.
“It is going to be difficult to keep those guys behind.”
Lewis Hamilton qualified in fourth but was subjected to TWO FIA investigations for rejoining the track after going wide.
He said: “This track is incredible to drive and it was hectic because it was constantly drying up but was slippery at the beginning and difficult to see.
“You know every lap is going to be faster than the next lap.
Lewis Hamilton qualified in fourth but was subjected to two FIA investigationsCredit: Rex
“I was a big chunk off Max, which was very impressive, but I am very happy with the result.
“I have Max behind but the goal will be to chase those guys down.”
Lando Norris was seventh with George Russell eighth.
Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 honeymoon came to an abrupt end after he was eliminated from qualifying at the first attempt when his lap time was deleted for running wide.
The Aussie — handed a place back on the grid by Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri at last weekend’s Hungarian GP — will start 19th, just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, whose Haas had a hydraulic issue.
Meanwhile, Alpine have axed team boss Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane.
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The Oxfordshire-based outfit are in chaos having replaced chief exec Laurent Rossi earlier this month.
The team say both are leaving by mutual agreement and will stop working for Alpine after Sunday’s GP. More

MCLAREN star Lando Norris accidentally SMASHED Max Verstappen’s trophy while celebrating his podium finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix.The 23-year-old, who finished the race in second place, was attempting his trademark champagne celebration when the incident occurred.
Verstappen’s trophy was accidentally smashed to piecesCredit: Getty
Norris smashed it while celebrating with champagneCredit: Splash
Verstappen won the Hungarian GPCredit: AFP
The Dutchman joked about it afterwardsCredit: Reuters
Every time he finishes in the top three, Norris hits his champagne bottle off the podium to activate the fizz before spraying.
He did so after the race in Hungary on Sunday, only this time the impact from the bottle caused Verstappen’s trophy to fall off the podium and smash to pieces.
The two-time world champion didn’t appear too phased by it however, as he proceeded to joke with Norris once the celebrations calmed down.
Fans took to Twitter to react, with one person writing: “Don’t worry about Max’s trophy, Lando… he has a lot of them!”
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Another added: “Love how Lando just shrugs like ‘Whatever, Max won’t even notice!'”
A third said: “His reaction is the best, hilarious!”
While a fourth fan joked: “The best entertainment of the afternoon lol.”
Verstappen stormed to victory at the Hungarian GP after overtaking pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton at the first corner.
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It marked a record-breaking 12th consecutive win for Red Bull and the Dutchman’s ninth win of the season.
Meanwhile, it was a day to forget for Alpine as both drivers were forced to retire after the opening lap following a collision.
Esteban Ocon’s seat split in two after he made contact with teammate Pierre Gasly and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu just a few seconds into the race.
The Frenchman was checked out at the medical centre, but he later confirmed that he was okay. More

SERGIO PEREZ crashed his Red Bull just five minutes into the first Hungarian Grand Prix practice session on Friday.The 33-year-old had just started his first flying lap of the weekend when his front-left wheel dipped on to the grass, causing his car to spin out and crash into the barrier.
Perez crashed his car into the barrier during the first Hungarian GP practice sessionCredit: EPA
The Red Bull star was visibly frustrated after the accidentCredit: EPA
His car was left severely damagedCredit: Getty

Checo was left unharmed by the accident, although he appeared to be very frustrated with his mistake.
Perez currently sits second in the Drivers Championship, but he has failed to reach Q3 in each of the last five race weekends.
His poor qualifying form has subsequently had an impact on his race results, therefore casting doubt over his future at Red Bull.
And he now finds himself under pressure from Daniel Ricciardo, who was named as AlphaTauri’s new driver last week.
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Ricciardo, 34, replaced rookie Nyck de Vries, who was axed by Red Bull’s sister team following his poor start to the season.
The Aussie is set to make his F1 return at the Hungarian GP this weekend, but he hopes to eventually work his way back into contention at Red Bull.
On Thursday, he said: “I had enough time off to reset but also kind of enjoy it again. I already felt that on the simulator so far this year but then also that’s why I wanted to drive the car and really make sure that it is still truly what I love doing most.
“I was up to speed really quickly and it felt so good again and obviously tasting the Red Bull car (at Silverstone after the British GP) got me pretty excited.
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“I knew also with everything that happened the last few years, getting back into the sport after taking some time off, I knew it would be very hard to go back at the top.
“Of course that was my wish but you also need to be realistic at some point and say ‘OK, if I want to get back to a Red Bull seat then it’s going to take a bit of a process or a path’. This for me is the best path at the moment.”
Championship leader Max Verstappen has revealed that he would be happy to see his former teammate return to Red Bull.
When asked about the possibility of a reunion earlier this week, he said: “I mean, I never actually wanted him to leave!
“No, I mean, all of these things, we know that we get on very well, and if Daniel, of course, does well where he is now, then, of course, he has the opportunity to go back up.
“It’s all open, to be honest.” More