Lando Norris of McLaren secured his first Grand Prix victory of the year at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The win came after a compelling race that saw a close battle for podium positions in the closing laps. Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished second, while Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes claimed third place.
Norris expressed satisfaction with his performance, stating his pace was among the best he has ever had and that the car felt good to drive. His victory was influenced by a strategic decision from his team, which reportedly did not please his teammate, Oscar Piastri.
Race Dynamics and Strategy
Norris initially lost the lead to Piastri early in the race. Piastri, who had a strong start, took advantage of an error by Norris at Turn Two to move into first position. This put McLaren in a challenging situation, with the slower car leading despite running one-two.
During the first pit stops, Piastri maintained his lead, with Norris close behind. Norris began to challenge in the second stint and requested to make his second stop first, but this was declined. Instead, Piastri was called in, and Norris was allowed to run for six additional laps before his pit stop for fresh tyres. Norris rejoined the track just ahead of Piastri, who had been delayed by an incident with Williams driver Carlos Sainz while being lapped. Sainz received a five-second penalty for the incident.
Piastri later retired from second place on lap 56 due to a gearbox failure, which led to a late virtual safety car (VSC). This VSC period intensified battles among other drivers but did not affect Norris, who maintained his lead. Norris’s performance and McLaren’s upgraded car at Hungary evoked memories of their championship season from the previous year.
Verstappen’s Second Place and Hamilton’s Penalties
Max Verstappen secured a surprise second-place finish, despite expressing dissatisfaction with his car during the race. Red Bull’s strategy to fit soft tyres during his second pit stop proved effective. This move was intended to challenge Lewis Hamilton in the later stages of the race.
Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, finished fourth but was penalised five seconds for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him to fifth behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. This penalty was Hamilton’s second in two days, following a grid penalty for impeding Piastri during qualifying. Hamilton had initially qualified second but received a three-place grid penalty, moving him to fifth on the starting grid. The incident occurred when Hamilton impeded Piastri at Turn 1, forcing Piastri to abort his lap.
Hamilton’s grid penalty was confirmed after stewards reviewed video, telemetry, team radio, and in-car video evidence. The stewards determined that Hamilton unnecessarily impeded Piastri during qualifying. This followed other penalties in previous races in Belgium and Britain.
Kimi Antonelli extended his championship lead to 50 points over Lewis Hamilton. George Russell, Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate, finished seventh after recovering from a difficult start where he dropped to 21st place on the first lap. Aston Martin had a positive weekend with their car, with Lance Stroll finishing 13th, ahead of Fernando Alonso. The team anticipates a Honda engine upgrade for the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix.
The next event on the Formula 1 calendar is the Dutch Grand Prix, scheduled from 21-23 August, following a four-week summer break.
Source: bbc.com
