This weekend’s running of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring ended with Lando Norris taking the win – his first as the defending Formula 1 World Champion – though for much of the race, spanning roughly 38 laps, the outcome remained far from certain.
Norris converted his pole position into the lead heading into Turn 1, but a moment of instability at Turn 2 cost him that advantage, with Piastri immediately capitalizing to move ahead. In the podium interview following the race, he explained what went wrong:
“I just kept losing the rear. I had like three or four big snaps. Felt horrible and, of course, Oscar did a good job to get the cut back and get back past, so I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt and game over for the first lap.”
What followed was 35-odd laps of Norris stalking his own teammate, waiting for an opening that never quite came – until strategy handed him one. Piastri pitted earlier, traffic intervened at the worst possible moment for the Australian, and when Norris eventually stopped for tires, he emerged ahead on the road. Piastri’s race came to a premature end on Lap 56 when a gearbox failure forced him to retire, capping off an afternoon that had proved deeply disappointing for the Australian driver.
Norris Says the Pace Was “Some of the Best” He’s Ever Had
For all the drama of the first lap, Norris wasn’t dwelling on it. His takeaway was closer to disbelief at how well everything clicked once the strategy played out. “I was pushing like hell to try and force him into a mistake or something,” he said. “My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had. The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident.”
Norris secured the victory by running an extended closing stint, a risk that proved worthwhile as he benefited from open track and new tyres. “Going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good I could always extend the stints and fresh tyres then always won me the race. So, I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again.”
He finished 15 seconds clear of Max Verstappen, with Kimi Antonelli completing the podium. Antonelli, who leads the Drivers‘ Championship by 50 points over Lewis Hamilton heading into the summer break, kept his title campaign in solid shape despite not winning.
Whether Norris can sustain this level of performance remains uncertain – and he himself stops short of guaranteeing it. “Considering how good it felt today, I certainly want to believe that we can continue it. There’s going to be moments where we’re going to struggle more, moments that might be even better, but we know this track is a good one for us.”
There was a caveat from the driver, howeverr: “This is maybe as good as it gets for now, but I certainly believe we can still win races. I knew it was coming, and the team have put so much work in to make it a car that can finally win again. It’s nice to be able to do it for them.”
Yes, one good race may feel like things have changed after the outfit brought upgrades to the Budapest race, but the season is long. “The Ferraris are quick, obviously Kimi’s the one that’s just always there every single session, he’s doing a good job. So, if we wanna come back, we need a lot more of these and we need to keep putting pressure on our competition.”
Despite the challenges that remain for McLaren, Norris enters the summer break on the back of a victory, carrying renewed confidence. “I owe the team a lot. They’ve done an amazing job to even get back to winning races at this point, so I’m proud.”
His plans for the break? “Just sleep. That’s all.” Sounds about right.
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