Oscar Piastri snatched the lead at the start and dominated early at the Hungaroring on Sunday (July 21st), securing the win when McLaren teammate Lando Norris eventually followed team orders with two laps to go and let Piastri through for the lead. Piastri’s win at the Hungarian Grand Prix is his first Formula 1.
“It’s very, very special,” said Piastri. “This is really the day I dreamed of as a kid, standing on the top step of an F1 podium. Obviously a bit complicated at the end but I put myself in the right position at the start, and thank you to the team for an amazing effort, and amazing car. It’s a hell of a lot of fun racing for McLaren so I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to be in F1, and to be able to win together 18 months in is an incredible feeling.”
A disappointed Norris settled for second, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third, who survived a late clash with Max Verstappen to post his 200th F1 podium. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took fourth, while teammates Carlos Sainz finished sixth as the two Ferrari’s sandwiched a frustrated Verstappen in fifth.
Sergio Perez finished seventh after starting 16th, while George Russell came home eighth after starting 17th on the grid and also grabbed an extra point for the fastest lap. Both Perez and Russell failed to advance to Q2 on Saturday (July 20th). Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth, and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll grabbed the final points-paying position.
In the driver standings, Verstappen’s lead over Norris is 265 to 189. Charles Leclerc is third with 162 points, eight ahead of Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz.
In the constructor standings, McLaren’s 1-2 finish propelled them over Ferrari to second, where they trail Red Bull 389 to 338. Ferrari holds third with 322 points.
The Race
It was a drag race down to turn 1 at lights out, as Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen went three wide. Piastri came out ahead, while Verstappen ran very wide.
But Verstappen reentered ahead of Norris as Piastri pulled away. The stewards were investigating Verstappen’s move, but before any potential penalty was announced, the Red Bull team advised Verstappen to let Norris through to second. Verstappen reluctantly agreed and began a determined effort to overtake the McLaren legally.
By lap six, Piastri was nearly three seconds ahead of his teammate, with Verstappen hounding Norris. Hamilton was in fourth after overtaking Sainz at the start.
Some early pit stops on lap eight occurred as Alonso, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, and Zhou pitted, all for hard tires, as a three-stop pit strategy came into play.
Verstappen toned down his efforts to chase Norris and dropped to two seconds behind the McLaren. With his Red Bull lacking the pace of the McLarens, Verstappen’s best bet was to utilize his team’s pit-stop acumen and use the undercut to slingshot his hopes for a win.
Piastri’s lead was over three seconds by lap 11, and his team instructed him to manage his tires. With the pit window approaching in the next 5-10 laps, the upcoming stops by McLaren and Red Bull could determine the race winner.
On lap 14, McLaren instructed Norris that his race was with Verstappen, a concession that Norris’ job now was to keep Verstappen behind him.
Hamilton was the first of the top eight to pit, and the Mercedes left with a set of hard tires on lap 17 in the hopes of pulling off the undercut on Verstappen. Hamilton emerged in sixth. Norris was the first McLaren to pit, coming in on lap 18 for hard tires and returning to the track in fifth.
Piastri was in a lap later, entering with an eight-second lead over Verstappen. Piastri came out in fourth, 12 seconds behind Verstappen, who assumed the lead. Despite the Dutchman’s complaints about his car’s performance, Red Bull decided to keep Verstappen out for a few more laps. Christian Horner’s toughest job as team principal is counseling Verstappen when he’s not in the best car on the track. Well, maybe second-hardest job, the first being convincing himself that Sergio Perez should remain with Red Bull.
Verstappen finally dove into the pits on lap 22 for hard tires and re-entered in fifth, seven seconds behind Hamilton in fourth and about 12 behind Piastri, who was in second behind Leclerc, who had yet to pit.
Leclerc pitted on lap 24, and Pastri was back in the lead, about three seconds ahead of Norris, with Hamilton two seconds behind Norris and Verstappen five seconds behind Hamilton and gaining.
On lap 25, the order was Piastri, Norris, Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Russell, Sainz, Perez, and Gasly.
While Piastri’s lead over Norris had grown to four seconds over Norris, Verstappen was within two seconds of Hamilton in third on lap 30. Three laps later, Verstappen was within DRS range, and on lap 35, Verstappen forced Hamilton to lock up into turn 1, and Verstappen made the pass down the straightaway. But the Red Bull ran wide and Hamilton retook the position.
Piastri’s lead was down to less than a second over Norris, with Piastri’s lack of pace a bit concerning for McLaren. Meanwhile, Leclerc was setting a series of fastest laps and quickly gaining on a frustrated Verstappen, who was still struggling to find a way by Hamilton.
Hamilton pitted on lap 41, accompanied by Leclerc with Hamilton taking a set of hard tires, and Leclerc choosing mediums.
With Verstappen well back in third, the McLaren 1-2 was a practical certainty, but the order was still in doubt. Norris was the first McLaren to pit and came in on lap 46. A solid 3.3-second stop for a set of scrub medium tires placed Norris in fourth, with the intention of covering Hamilton and preserving the likelihood of the McLaren 1-2. Once Piastri pitted, Norris wound up ahead but would give the position back to his teammate when necessary?
Piastri came in for service on lap 48 for medium tires, with Verstappen assuming the lead and Norris taking second. Verstappen was in two laps later for mediums and resumed in fifth, meaning the Red Bull driver would have plenty of work to do to get on the podium.
With 20 laps remaining, Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Russell, Perez, Tsunoda, and Alonso ran as the order.
Norris’ lead over Paistri was 3.7 seconds at lap 55, and Piastri had made up little to no ground since his last pit stop. His team warned Norris to ease up on his tires on lap 57. It looked like Norris was pushing to the point where he’d be too far ahead of Piastri for McLaren to enact team orders safely. It would be an advantageous outcome for Norris’ hopes in the championship race but devastating to Piastri’s trust in his team and his teammate.
Verstappen overtook Leclerc for fourth on lap 58, a few laps after complaining to Red Bull strategists that he was trying to rescue their “sh$t strategy.” Verstappen trailed Hamilton by less than two seconds, and it appeared another Verstappen-Hamilton battle for position was upcoming. And with a frustrated and ornery Verstappen, who knows what might happen.
Norris’ lead was nearing five seconds, and McLaren was urged by his team to remember the team concept, as well as the fallout should Norris refuse to comply with team orders. A defiant Norris replied “Well, tell him to catch up then.” The potential for the next great Formula 1 team order controversy was
Verstappen made an overaggressive attempt to pass Hamilton into turn 1, with the two making contact as the Red Bull’s left rear touched Hamilton’s right front. Verstappen’s car hopped in the air, and he veered off the track. Verstappen, luckily, continued but lost fourth to Leclerc. It was clearly Verstappen’s fault, and even Verstappen’s greatest cheerleader, Horner, was audibly frustrated with his driver.
With five laps to go, Norris still had given no indication of complying with team orders and every indication of defying them. Norris’ lead was over five seconds on lap 67, and he finally slowed on the front straight, allowing Piastri to take the lead.
Piastri took the checkered flag for his first F1 win, his elation likely tempered by Norris’ stubbornness. Hamilton took third for his 200th career podium.
The Good
There were two magnificent racing battles between Verstappen and Hamilton, and in both cases, Hamilton’s ability to defend confounded and frustrated his Red Bull rival. Verstappen’s ill-advised, late-breaking attempt for position late in the race could have ended the day for both drivers, considering the impact of the collision, but luckily, both carried on. It was good to see that Verstappen, while clearly frustrated for the entirety of the race, could gather his wits well enough to make a crazy, stupid, kamikaze move that in no way could have ended with his Red Bull ahead of Hamilton. And it’s the kind of move we can expect more of this season, especially when his team principal, Christian Horner, insists it was a “racing incident.” In fact, given it’s the short-tempered Verstappen, it should be called a “raging incident.”
Kudos to Norris’ team for swiftly remedying a throttle issue that arose about 30 minutes before the race start. Mechanics were literally elbow-deep in the McLaren’s nose and racing against time to have the machine ready for Norris. It was a team effort that Norris should be able to recognize and appreciate once his team demands it.
Sergio Perez turned a crash in Q1 on Saturday (July 20th) and a start of 16th on the grid into a seventh in the race. Just when you think Perez has driven himself out of a Red Bull seat, he drives himself back into it so he can then again do what he does best, which is drive himself out of a Red Bull seat.
While Red Bull may be considering an exit strategy for Perez, Perez often writes it himself and notarizes it. Perez had the fastest car on the track at points in the race. Just think what he could have done with a solid qualifying effort. That’s what Red Bull does: they can just think about it because it’s not reality.
Word is Novak Djokovic is advising George Russell on mental and physical strategies to extend his longevity as a driver. Personal vaccination stances aside, one thing we can all agree on is that injecting life into a career is okay.
The Bad
In a race that featured Verstappen at his whiniest and most stubborn, Norris gave him a run for his money in the whiny and stubborn categories. Norris had often been the beneficiary of Piastri’s loyal teamwork, but when it came time for Norris to repay the favors, it became a problem. Wisely, Norris finally conceded, and while he avoided a full-blown controversy by following team orders, he defied them for long enough to earn the future side eye from Piastri and the McLaren team.
And let’s not pat Norris on the back for eventually following team orders after several laps of resisting them. If you don’t want to be subject to team orders, then turn your pole position into, at the very least, the lead exiting turn 1. You can do that, Lando, by not being the first driver to back off as you, Piastri, and Verstappen flew three-wide into turn 1. In the game of “chicken,” you lost. In the game of “playing the good teammate,” you also lost.
Grid Walk Moment
Is the Hungarian Grand Prix not a destination event for celebrities and dignitaries? No offense to any famous Hungarian people, if there are any, but there didn’t seem to be anyone of note on the grid for Martin Brundle’s “Grid Walk.” Brundle probably realized this well after be passed on a chance to talk to Flavio Briatore, moving on with a simple “Hello Flavio” before Brundle chose to speak to movie and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who flagged down Brundle in a desperate attempt to talk about Bruckheimer’s upcoming “F1” movie. I’m guessing, given all the hype and publicity around the film, its Rotten Tomatoes score will fall somewhere in the teens.
Here’s a little “Grid Walk” etiquette lesson for you Jerry—if Brundle doesn’t initiate the conversation, he either 1) doesn’t know you, or 2) doesn’t care that he knows you, or 3) heard enough about the “F1” movie at Silverstone.
And speaking of Flavio and Bruckenheimer, let me tell you this, Jerry: there’s enough Flavio material for at least two season’s worth of a “Crime Scene Investigation: Flavio Briatore” series, in which a team of investigators puts in a ton of overtime gathering and processing evidence of a series of Briatore crimes.
The Disappointing
Did Verstappen really stay up until 3:00 AM playing sim racing on a race day? If that’s true, I condemn him for his arrogance to think he can do that and still win a race while at the same time praising him for doing it and still finishing fifth in a grand prix. If it was, in fact, a matter of Verstappen waking up on the wrong side of the bed, I blame Christian Horner for not tucking Max in properly and not reading Max his favorite bedtime story, a book called “Max Verstappen Wins Every Time.” Alternate title: “Always Take Credit, But Never Take Responsibility.”
But maybe, just maybe, all Verstappen needs to reinvigorate his work ethic is a little competition, and also a team that refuses to tolerate his penchant to trash talk them over radio transmissions. Other drivers have lately shown that they will stand up to Verstappen’s bullying; maybe Red Bull will as well. But probably not.
The Driver
In a race with a wealth of alternative storylines (Norris ignoring team orders, Verstappen’s unhappiness with everything, Verstappen and Hamilton tangling), Piastri’s calm demeanor throughout all the drama should be commended, just as much as his brilliant start to the race, which left McLaren no choice but to treat him as their No. 1 driver, at least for a day.
Piastri took the Norris situation in stride, and while he could have made it much more of an issue (and been totally validated in doing so), he did not, thereby preserving the good vibes in the McLaren camp.
The Results (Hungarian Grand Prix, Hungaroring)
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | TIME/RETIRED | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 70 | 1:38:01.989 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 70 | +2.141s | 18 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 70 | +14.880s | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 70 | +19.686s | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 70 | +21.349s | 10 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 70 | +23.073s | 8 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 70 | +39.792s | 6 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 70 | +42.368s | 5 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 70 | +77.259s | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 70 | +77.976s | 1 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 70 | +82.460s | 0 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 33 | DNF | 0 |
Note – Russell scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.
