Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse: Say Hello to the 2024 US Grand Prix’s Trophies
Disney's beloved mouse would like a word. And so would I.
I was excited to hear on social media that the United States Grand Prix’s trophies had been announced. When I went online and saw a picture of all three, I couldn’t figure out where I had seen them, but I knew I’d seen them before.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks – The Radio Disney Music Awards.
The resemblance is uncanny.
After this season’s Hungarian Grand Prix and Italian Grand Prix trophies, I expected this trophy announcement would likely go one of two ways: the trophy would either be gorgeous or leave me looking like a personified question mark. Unfortunately, it was the latter.
The US GP trophy was designed by Italian artist Matteo Machiavelli. According to Pirelli’s public statement, the trophy named Heroo (yes, they named the trophy), “is 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.” I personally think it’s more of a cross between Mickey Mouse and a Lego Man… but to each is their own.
The figure stands on a Pirelli tire, wearing a racing helmet as its hands reach towards the sky in victory. However, the most confusing part of Heroo (and what fans are focusing on) is the fact that it has Mickey Mouse ears. Pirelli’s public statement doesn’t explain the artist’s decision to include Mickey ears in his trophy design, and I, along with other fans, are incredibly confused.
Perhaps this is alluding to a future partnership with Disney, though there’s no information circulating to support that.
I’m not questioning Machiavelli’s talent, but I am curious about his reasoning for designing the trophy and how it got approved. The similarity of design to the Radio Disney Music Awards and to Mickey Mouse himself seems like a copyright infringement case just waiting to happen.
With the majority of Formula 1’s most beloved trophies paying homage to the cities and countries in which they take place, this one has missed the mark. Take for instance, the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. The 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix honored the tradition of Hungarian porcelain, providing the podium-placers with porcelain trophies adorned with delicate pastel patterns. This tradition of hand-painted porcelain trophies dates back to 2006, and though not every year brought the winner a porcelain trophy, each time it has been awarded, fans and drivers alike have been mesmerized by the time and talent it took to create these trophies. And there are no doubts about its connection to Hungarian culture. Simply put, it’s unique and automatically associated with the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai brought a unique wearable trophy to honor the tradition of the laurel wreath that blended together modern technology and traditional Chinese symbols. Embedded with sensors to light up when worn, the trophy has gold accents twisting in a circular pattern to represent the movement of a dragon, an important part of Chinese folklore, and was red, honoring the lucky color in Chinese culture.
The question today still remains: What does Heroo have to do with the US Grand Prix, Austin, or the Circuit of the Americas?
And how did Mickey Mouse earn a coveted spot on the podium?
i had no idea this was the trophy design, i’m so confused ahahahahaha 💀.