Formula 1: After last year’s incident, Lando Norris will race in unique Hungarian Herend helmet
Lando Norris’ last encounter with a prized Herend porcelain did not go too well: in 2023, he accidentally smashed Max Verstappen’s winning trophy while celebrating after the Hungarian Grand Prix. But from the accident came a collaboration, and this year, the McLaren driver will wear a unique, hand-painted helmet adorned with famous Herend motifs.
Also reported by DNH at the time, the celebration after last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix was a memorable one. Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Sergio Pérez finished in the top three during the race, and as the usual post-race champagne parade began, Norris accidentally knocked Verstappen’s Herend porcelain first-place trophy to the ground, shattering it into pieces. The trophy was handmade by 30 people over six months and had an estimated value of EUR 40,000.
After the incident, the McLaren team apologised to Verstappen, and the Herend Porcelain Manufactory offered to replace the broken prize. Fortunately, it seems that there is no bad blood between Lando Norris and the Manufactory. The celebration gone awry last year has now brought a fruitful relationship.
Herend Porcelain Manufactory teams up with Lando Norris
As Bors writes, before this year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris arrived in the country early to visit the Herend Porcelain Manufactory. Attila Simon, CEO of the Manufactory, said that the McLaren driver was shown around the building and the various stages of manufacture, and even tried his hand at porcelain painting.
The visit was obviously a success, so much so that Simon jokingly said,
“Lando passed his test very well, I offered him a job at the porcelain factory and he didn’t say no!”
As he pointed out, on a more serious note, “There was a long lead-up to this meeting. Herend has been the supplier of trophies to the Hungarian Grand Prix for many years. Lando is a serious favourite for the race. We are confident that the trophy will be in his hands this year.”
“You always have to look on the bright side of everything,” Simon added, referring to the accidental trophy-smashing of last year, continuing “Herend Porcelain is a value-creating community.”
Beautiful helmet from the Herend Manufactory to support a good cause
That is why this year, the McLaren driver will be wearing a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted helmet for the Grand Prix. Attila Simon said that eight months earlier, Lando Norris’ manager approached Herend Porcelain Manufactory with the idea of creating a helmet for the driver. The final look was selected from a number of designs and, as Attila Simon said, it shows “that an unusual event can turn into a value-creating relationship.”
“The whole idea obviously came from last year, in trying to make up for what happened,” Norris told reporters, continuing “and show my respect also, because I’m a big fan and I respect a lot the design, the time, and the effort that everyone does to create something so special.”
The joint work went well, with Norris saying, “We were able to create something with this helmet that has a real meaning, a message. It’s always very important to a driver what kind of helmet they are racing in. Thank you very much to the Herend family for this helmet.” Then, he added, “And next week I will start my work here!”
According to the Herend Porcelain Manufactory, the pattern of the Helmet was inspired by the “Hungarian motifs” (“Motifs Hongrois”) décor with the elements of Transylvanian embroideries of the 15th-17th centuries, supplemented with bee, bird, and butterfly motifs that are iconic to the manufactory. The artwork was hand-painted with a needle-point brush, over countless hours. The final result is a truly stunning work of art.
On social media, Norris wrote: “Honour to team up with @herendporcelain on this hand-painted masterpiece for Hungary. When we got together we knew we wanted to do something special and here it is. From the bottom of my heart thank you (and sorry about last year).”
After the race on Sunday, the unique helmet will be signed by Lando Norris and auctioned off with the proceeds donated to charity.
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Source: Bors