HUNGARIAN GP – Lando Norris holds off Oscar Piastri to take fifth win of the season by seven tenths
Lando Norris held off his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to take his fifth win of the season by seven tenths at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Norris overtook his teammate thanks to making the undercut work after switching to a one-stop strategy and gained the lead when Piastri made his second stop on lap forty-four.
Piastri then spent the next few laps trying to pass George Russell and Charles Leclerc. After passing Russell, the Australian out braked Leclerc on lap sixty-two, but the Mercedes came back at him before Piastri made the move stick a few corners later. He then set about chasing down his teammate but was unable to make the move stick, allowing McLaren to take a record-extending thirteenth win in Budapest.
But he was unable to fight back against Norris’ controlled, defensive drive in an intense race with the two title rivals on divergent strategies, which allowed him to narrow the championship to nine points with nine weekends remaining. The Englishman having the better fight back following a change of strategy after losing places and dropping to fifth at the start.
He made it into DRS range with five laps remaining, and looked well set for victory as he measured a possible overtake up the inside. Norris kept his cool on his aged tyres, forced an error from Piastri, who locked up as he attempted to dive up the inside at the start of the penultimate lap. Game over, as he decided to back off on the last lap.
The Australian received a reminder over the radio of the key principle of McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’, which is ensuring the avoidance of contact between their drivers, which already happened once this season when Norris caused a collision in Canada.
But since Montreal, the Englishman has appeared to avoid spiralling as has been the case so many times in his career, winning three of the final four races before the summer break to reignite a title battle that appeared to be slipping away from him. Piastri’s lead over Norris now just nine points going into the summer break, with Verstappen eighty-eight behind Norris, McLaren having nearly a three-hundred-point lead over Ferrari
Norris wins the Hungarian Grand Prix, he said: “I’m dead, it was tough, we weren’t really planning on a one-stop at the beginning but after the first lap it was kind of our only option to get back into things. It was tough in the final stint with Oscar catching, I was pushing flat out you know, so my voice has gone a little bit. It feels good and rewarding a little more because of that but a good result today.”
Piastri, who finished second: “I pushed as hard as I could. I saw Lando going for a one [stop] so I knew I was going to have to overtake on track, which is easier said then done around here. Tried a few things; it was a gamble either way, and unfortunately, we were just on the other side of it.”
Russell finished in third in the Mercedes, he said: “I’m really happy with the race today, yesterday qualifying was a bit of surprise and this whole weekend has been a surprise for everyone, but I’m so happy to be back on the podium. It was a bit dicey with Charles [Leclerc] at some points.”
Leclerc finished the race twenty-one seconds behind the McLarens; the Ferrari driver didn’t have the pace ultimately to fend off the two McLaren’s who managed to undercut him just before three-quarters distance and secure a one-two. Piastri went to the outside at the first corner and swept around the outside as he took the lead of the race. Leclerc also gained a ten-second penalty for causing a collision.
As the race progressed early on, it soon as predicted by many that the Ferrari wouldn’t have the pace to fight with the McLarens as the strategy started to play out and he soon started dropping away, which allowed Russell to close in and pass him for third.
But the Ferrari driver was comfortable ahead of Fernando Alonso continued his strong weekend as he brought his Aston Martin home fifth, sixteen seconds behind Leclerc. The Spaniard ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto by seven seconds. Alonso continued the strong form, pulling off a one-stop as many went to a two-stop delivering fifth, his protégé Bortoleto pulled it off as well, finishing just over a second ahead of Lance Stroll.
Max Verstappen’s nightmare weekend continued as did his former championship rival Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman finishing ninth, three seconds behind Liam Lawson. But Verstappen is under investigation for forcing Hamilton wide as they fought for eleventh around half distance. Verstappen finished the race ninth, ahead of Kimi Antonelli by eight tenths, but both were a lap down on Norris.
Isack Hadjar was eleventh the French-Algerian missing out on the points by eight and a half tenths as the Racing Bull finished over twenty seconds ahead of Hamilton. Nico Hulkenberg was thirteenth as he finished the race ahead of both Williams by two seconds, as Carlos Sainz finished nearly five seconds ahead of teammate Alex Albon.
Sainz was hit by Pierre Gasly during the race, but both managed to continue in the race with Gasly awarded a ten second time penalty dropping him to nineteenth. Esteban Ocon was the only Haas to finish the race as Ollie Bearman retired with damage. Yuki Tsunoda was eighteenth ahead of the two Alpine’s with Franco Colapinto nine seconds ahead of Gasly
Related
- Hungarian GP – Qualifying Result
- HUNGARIAN GP – Charles Leclerc beats both McLarens by a quarter of a tenth to take pole
- HUNGARIAN GP – Oscar Piastri leads teammate Lando Norris by just over three hundredths in third practice
- HUNGARIAN GP – Lando Norris leads a McLaren one-two, going three tenths faster than Oscar Piastri in second practice
- HUNGARIAN GP – Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri by just under two hundredths in first practice
- Welcome to the Hungarian Grand Prix – 31072025