Max Verstappen helps Red Bull make history at Hungarian Grand Prix
CNN —
Max Verstappen helped Red Bull make history on Sunday as the Dutchman won the Hungarian Grand Prix with ease to secure his team a record 12th successive win.
But it wasn’t only records that were broken. During the drivers’ celebrations on the podium, the Dutchman’s trophy smashed.
Lando Norris, who finished second, popped his bottle of champagne in his usual style by bashing it on the podium.
Unfortunately, Verstappen’s porcelain trophy then trickled off the podium before smashing on the floor.
“Sorry Max,” McLaren tweeted after the incident. “We’re gonna need some glue,” Red Bull said.
Verstappen with his broken trophy. Jure Makovec/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Red Bull have won every race this season (11) and, unsurprisingly, lead the constructors’ championship by a handsome margin – 208 points ahead of Mercedes in second.
Including the win achieved on the final race of last season, the team surpasses McLaren’s long-standing record of 11 straight wins, set in 1988.
“It’s something the whole team has worked so hard for and it’ll mean so so much,” team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports.
Verstappen was the first to the chequered flag for the 44th time in his career. The victory, which he won by more than 30 seconds, was his seventh in a dominant season.
Verstappen celebrates a seventh straight win. Joe Portlock/Formula 1/Getty Images
“For the team, 12 wins in a row is just incredible,” Verstappen said on Sky Sports.
“What we’ve been going through these last few years is incredible and hopefully we can keep this going for a long time. A day like today is just perfect.”
Verstappen looks ever more likely to successfully defend his world title. “He’s a driver totally at one with himself, at one with the car,” added Horner before describing the 25-year-old as a “sportsman at the top of his game.”
The real battle this season is now arguably for second place, with teammate Sergio Perez 99 points behind in second and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third, a further 32 points behind Perez.
Perez was third at the Hungaroring. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth.
Source: CNN
