Lando Norris offered his apologies for inadvertently smashing Max Verstappen's Hungarian Grand Prix trophy on the podium last Sunday.
As drivers prepared to spray the bubbly, Norris executed his signature champagne bottle thump, but the move sent Verstappen's precious $45,000 hand-made porcelain cup tumbling which broke the trophy's base and top.
In the drivers' press conference that followed the event, both drivers jokes about the blunder, with Norris blaming the crack-up on Verstappen whom he said had left the trophy "too close to the edge".
But at Spa on Thursday, the McLaren charger owned up to his gaffe and apologized for its costly consequence.
"First of all, I do want to apologise for it," Norris said.
"I obviously had no intention of ever doing such a thing. And I know how much it means to the
Hungarians and [is] part of their culture and so forth.
"Of course, I want to enjoy the time [celebrating on the podium], but it was never my intention to do such a thing.
"I did apologise to Max. I know I made a couple of jokes about it, which maybe I shouldn't [have]. But I do feel bad. If he did it to my trophy I'd be annoyed!
"I do apologise for it and obviously [to] the people that put the time and effort in everything into making it. I really didn't mean for it to happen. I'll make sure I'm a lot more careful next time on celebrating."
Asked if he would change his celebratory ways of opening the bubbly on the podium, Norris said: "I'm gonna say no".
"There's no reason why I should, I'll just take a little bit more care with what I do. I'll just move the trophies aside and then continue."
Verstappen admitted that in any case, the trophy hadn't been his to keep as it belonged to the team, per Red Bull's contract with its drivers that call for all trophies and prizes to return to Milton Keynes to embellish the outfit's massive trophy cabinet.
"We get a new one anyway so it's alright," Verstappen said. "I don't know what they're actually doing with it. I think it's back at the factory at the moment.
"But apparently they take six months to make a new one so I guess for six months they can keep the broken one."
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