BUDAPEST, Hungary — Lando Norris claimed his and McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory of the season in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.
The reigning world champion too the checkered flag ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli – after mid-race drama and a late retirement for teammate Oscar Piastri.
Polesitter Norris spent the first half of the race in Piastri’s mirrors, having been jumped at Turn 2 on the opening lap – the latter doing just enough to hold onto the lead thereafter, and McLaren resisting Norris’ calls to be ushered through.
However, the intra-team battle was flipped on its head just after the midway point when Piastri – fresh from his second pit stop – encountered traffic in the form of Carlos Sainz in the first sector, and dramatically made contact with the Williams.
That moment, added to Norris’ sublime pace in clear air ahead of his own second stop, swung the race Norris’ favor, before Piastri’s day ended in despair thanks to an apparent gearbox problem.
A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) triggered by Piastri’s stoppage led to more pit lane action, with Verstappen and Antonelli (who had just swapped tires) staying out to take second and third respectively, ahead of three-stopping Ferrari pair Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton had initially emerged from that final stop ahead of Antonelli, only to cede the position after replays showed he had reached the relevant VSC white line at the end of the start/finish straight just behind the Mercedes.
“To get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good I could always extend the stints, and fresh tires then always won me the race. I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again,” Norris said.
Verstappen finished 15 seconds behind Norris in his Red Bull, while Antonelli, the series point leader, came home third for Mercedes.
The Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Antonelli completed the top five.
Isack Hadjer was sixth in the second Red Bull, with George Russell seventh in the second Mercedes entry.
