Hungarian Grand Prix – Race: McLaren battle turns in favor of Lando Norris
Thanks to a shifted strategy, Lando Norris got the better of his teammate to win. Trapped by McLaren's strategy, Charles Leclerc finally finished third. The long-awaited rain arrived, but only with a few drops.
Lando Norris fell back into his bad habits. While he was in a position to overtake his teammate at the start, he ultimately lost two places: George Russell and Fernando Alonso got the better of the McLaren by turn 2. Charles Leclerc had a slight lead over Oscar Piastri’s McLaren at the end of the first lap. The Alpine cars suffered greatly and were in 18th and 19th positions.
Max Verstappen, very poorly qualified, was very aggressive at the start of the Grand Prix and made two overtakes in the chicane at the entrance of the second sector. He was in seventh place at the end of the third lap.
Sauber drivers have been placed under investigation for a possible false start. Gabriel Bortoleto was cleared. However, doubts were stronger regarding Nico Hülkenberg. The footage confirmed the facts, as he was penalized five seconds.
Attempted undercut
The first wave of pit stops took place at the end of the 14th lap. At Haas, the stop was poorly executed as Esteban Ocon lost a position. Meanwhile, Lando Norris couldn’t find an opening on George Russell. Charles Leclerc maintained a lead of just under three seconds over the McLaren No. 81.
At the end of the 18th lap, Oscar Piastri went to the pits to switch to hard tires. He was the first leader to make a stop. This strategy disrupted Ferrari’s plans, prompting Charles Leclerc to come in. The Scuderia managed the situation well as the Monegasque driver retained the lead of the race.
On the 30th lap, an overtake by Max Verstappen could have turned into a drama. Much faster than Lewis Hamilton, the Red Bull driver nudged the tip of his front wing at the entrance of turn 4. This forced the Briton to go wide and lose a few seconds. An investigation has been opened, but it will be judged after the race.
Duel McLaren
Lando Norris came into the pits very late to put on hard tires. This caused concerns for Charles Leclerc, who, over the radio, assured he would lose the race because of this strategy. At the end of the 40th lap, Scuderia called driver #16 for a second pit stop. He came out in fourth place. Five laps later, Oscar Piastri performed the same operation. This put Lando Norris in the lead of the Grand Prix.
After easily overtaking Charles Leclerc, the Australian set off in pursuit of his teammate. On the radio, the Ferrari driver complained about his team and pointed out that the pit wall wasn’t listening to him. On the track, the pace of car #16 was very poor and was being caught by George Russell.
While Oscar Piastri was closing in on Lando Norris, George Russell was looking very threatening on the Monegasque’s Ferrari. The Mercedes eventually took the advantage, but only after a very dangerous maneuver by Charles Leclerc, who moved several times in the braking zone.
With five laps to go, the connection was made between the two Papayas. Despite a very aggressive strategy, Oscar Piastri was unable to pass his teammate, who won the Grand Prix.
