Why Charles Leclerc didn’t lift Pirelli’s Heroo trophy at US GP

A copyright infringement prevented Charles Leclerc from lifting Pirelli’s Heroo trophy design following his victory at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

Pirelli unveiled its Heroo trophy design last Monday, which was intended to be held aloft by the three podium finishers at the Circuit of the Americas after Sunday’s Grand Prix.

The design, which featured a humanoid figure standing upon a miniature Pirelli tyre, was created by Italian artist Matteo Macchiavelli and was said to be “an interpretation of the connection between the racing car and its tyres, while also being an artwork that links beauty and elegance with the excitement, sense of speed and quality of the materials that go into a Formula 1 car.”

Pirelli described the trophy’s construction in detail, explaining that “the ones for the Grand Prix winning driver and team representative stand out with the helmet painted in golden yellow, sprinkled in gold dust, while silver and titanium are the colours and finish chosen for the second and third placed drivers respectively.”

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However, the trophy was nowhere to be seen after Leclerc’s victory, with the Ferrari driver holding aloft a far more conventional award.

A copyright infringement stopped Charles Leclerc lifting Heroo

According to Autosport, Pirelli received notice on Saturday that its Heroo trophy held a similarity to another product and the Italian tyre manufacturer elected to play it safe and withdrew the award from the US GP podium ceremony.

Pirelli also intended to release a limited-edition collector’s item run of the Heroo trophy design, but there’s no confirmation as to whether this will continue under the current circumstances.

Moreover, the Heroo news release has been pulled from Pirelli’s website.

With Leclerc’s stand-in trophy covered, podium finishers Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen received Pirelli wind tunnel tyres which featured a U.S. flag and their finishing positions engraved on the wheel nuts.

For fans of traditional GP winners’ trophies, the development was considered a positive one, with Heroo’s design akin to Disney’s most iconic character – which perhaps is why a copyright infringement was noted in the first place.

READ MORE: Charles Leclerc heads Ferrari 1-2 at F1 US GP, Lando Norris loses podium