Lando Norris trimmed McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri’s lead in the drivers’ world championship to just nine points on Sunday when he switched tactics to lead him home by just 0.698 seconds in a thrilling finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old Briton, who moved from a two-stop strategy to one stop, held off series leader Piastri, on fresher tyres, over the closing laps of a strategic contest to claim McLaren’s 200th victory and their record 13th win in Hungary.
It was Norris’s first win at the Hungaroring in the event’s 40th race, avenging his ‘team orders’ defeat in 2024 when Piastri claimed his maiden success, his fifth victory of the season and the ninth of his career.
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The dominant McLaren pair finished 22 seconds clear of third-placed George Russell of Mercedes with pole sitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari fourth, grumbling at the Italian team’s poor planning after he slipped out of the leading position.
“I wasn’t planning to do a one-stop,” said Norris.
“But it was the only option to get back into things and it was tough. Oscar was pushing all the way.”
After the race, Martin Brundle said about the split strategies: “Oscar will be seething with that”.
Piastri said he had done all he could to triumph.
“It was great racing,” he said. “Lando did a great job.”
Piastri questioned his team’s decision to try to ‘undercut’ Leclerc with a pit stop in the early stages of the race.
“I’m not sure that was the right call in the end,” he said.
His drive brought McLaren their fourth consecutive 1-2 finish.
Two-time champion Fernando Alonso came home fifth for Aston Martin ahead of Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin, rookie Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls and frustrated four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Mercedes’ rookie Kimi Antonelli was 10th ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton 12th in the second Ferrari, 24 hours after declaring himself undeserving of their race seat.
Heavy overnight rain had ‘re-set’ the track on a breezy afternoon in front of a big crowd at the Hungaroring.
The track temperature was only 31 degrees, encouraging thoughts of a one-stop race as tyre-wear decreased and Leclerc controlled the pace ahead of Piastri, Russell and Norris.
Piastri pitted on lap 18, seeking an undercut. He returned in fifth as Leclerc responded to stay ahead.
Norris inherited the lead and had a 10-second advantage, as the Monegasque regained second, with Piastri third.
He then chose to stay out until pitting, in just 1.9 seconds, for hards on lap 31, rejoining fourth and facing a long run home.
At the front, Leclerc responded to an apparent ‘bluff’ call from McLaren and pitted, falling to fourth and gifting Piastri the lead ahead of a rapid Norris as the race dissolved into a strategy and tyre-management contest between the two McLarens.
Norris revelled in his delayed one-stop tactic as Piastri made a second pit on lap 45, the Briton leading with a frustrated Ferrari second, Leclerc blaming his team for bungling his plan before being passed by Piastri around Turn One on lap 51.
This left Norris, on ageing tyres, leading his teammate in a classic scrap to the flag, negotiating traffic and separated by half a second over the final laps.
On lap 68, the Australian went close to passing in Turn One and on lap 69, he locked up.
“Remember how we go racing,” Piastri’s engineer Tom Stallard reminded him.
For Leclerc, soon left a distant third by the two McLarens, it was another pole wasted – the 15th time he failed to convert pole into a win in 16 attempts – and it grew worse when Russell, after two attempts, passed him on lap 63.
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