Sport

Oscar Piastri triumphant in Hungary as Lando Norris made to follow McLaren order

Norris slowed down on the main straight with three laps remaining to allow Piastri to take the lead

Oscar Piastri of McLaren celebrates in parc ferme after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Sun Jul 21 2024 - 16:03

Oscar Piastri won the Hungarian Grand Prix after an enormously tense finale in a showdown with his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who finished second only after he very reluctantly agreed to follow team orders and let the Australian past with three laps remaining to secure his debut Formula One grand prix victory.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was furious with his car and his team throughout, came in fifth. He is under investigation for causing a collision, having hit Hamilton in an over-ambitious overtake attempt late in the race.

After Piastri had taken the lead from second on the grid behind Norris at turn one on the opening lap, he had looked largely in control as he moved toward his first win.

However, a single error proved enormously costly. With a three-second lead, a minor off on lap 33 at turn 11 allowed Norris to close to within a second. When McLaren then pitted Norris first to cover off Hamilton for the final stops, it gave the British driver the lead but under the expectation he would then give the place back to Piastri.

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Norris, with one eye on the championship where he now trails Verstappen by 76 points, was clearly in no mood to give up a win when Piastri could not catch him.

For the final third, the team pleaded with him to do so but Norris showed no indication he would, until finally giving way with the race all but done. McLaren had their first one-two since 2021 at Monza but Norris felt he had a point to make and caused the team no little palpitations in doing so. The debrief will certainly be lively.

The Australian’s debut win, in only his second season in F1, is an extraordinary feat for the 23-year-old from Melbourne who has only 35 races under his belt.

Piastri won the sprint in Qatar last year and went on to take second in the race; he took second at Monaco this season as well, but the victory here confirms he has the potential to go on to even greater things.

Having taken the lead, he had driven a calm, controlled and superb race but for the moment that proved costly and made the final third of the race absolutely gripping, a soap opera played out over team radio.

Race winner Oscar Piastri (right) and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris on the podium after the Hungarian Grand Prix. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

McLaren had pitted first for McLaren on lap 46 to cover Hamilton rather than as would be the norm for the race leader to take the stop. Piastri followed a lap later but Norris had been flying on his out-lap. The Australian emerged behind his team-mate but McLaren had informed him he would be given the place back, having lost out to the undercut.

“We would like you to re-establish the order at your convenience,” McLaren told Norris. The gap, however, was more than three seconds and Norris did not ease up with any alacrity.

The team told Piastri they would switch positions once he caught Norris but the pair were evenly matched on pace. The tension ratcheted up as the laps came down and Norris pointedly made no effort to slow up.

“I’ll know you will do the right thing,” was the almost pleading message from his race engineer Will Joseph on lap 58 as they repeatedly told him to ease up on his tyres, the gap up to four seconds. “Just remember every single Sunday morning meeting we have,” Joseph then beseeched.

“Yeah, well tell him to catch up then please,” was Norris’s terse response as he made his case to hold the place since Piastri was dropping further back

“The way to win a championship is not by yourself, you are going to need Oscar and you are going to need the team,” Joseph, with an air almost of desperation, told Norris with five laps to go. “Please do it now.”

Finally, on lap 68, Norris pulled over on the main straight to let his team-mate past, no doubt to enormous sighs of relief at McLaren and the pair took the flag line astern.

For Verstappen, a trying afternoon went from bad to worse. Looking to make up places with fresh rubber, he closed on Hamilton for fourth by lap 60 and charged on lap 63, went in far too hot and hit the British driver at turn one, launching his Red Bull into the air and dropping him to fifth. Verstappen inevitably blamed Hamilton, but even his team declined to indulge him over the radio and he may yet face a penalty.

Carlos Sainz was sixth for Ferrari, Sergio Pérez seventh for Red Bull, George Russell eighth for Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda ninth for RB and Lance Stroll 10th for Aston Martin. – Guardian