Hungary - Race

The Hungarian Sunday started peacefully but ended with angry radios, snide comments, and drivers questioning their teams. It was a dramatic event that made some viewers cross their fingers and others curse strategists and team principals. McLaren came into the race as the unquestionable front-runner, but were they able to handle the pressure and convert their 1-2 in qualifying into a 1-2 finish? 

Two McLarens and one Red Bull started as the top three cars on the grid. Norris, the polesitter focused on fighting off the aggressive attacks of Verstappen. Even though he defended his position, the Dutchman found a way past him. The overtake wasn't a clear one as it happened off-track, after Verstappen claimed that Norris forced him off. To avoid a potential penalty Red Bull ordered their driver to give the place up. The true winner of the squabble between the two drivers sitting at the very top of the driver's championship was Piastri who used their slower pace to his advantage and emerged as a new race leader. 

 

Movement also happened in the rest of the top 10. Leclerc gained a place and finished the first lap 5th, while his teammate fell to 7th. Sainz managed to gain a position when he overtook Alonso for 6th. Hamilton also moved up a place. Albon and Magnussen both slid into point-scoring positions.

Even though the pit window for the medium tires, which a lot of drivers started on, was between laps 13 and 17, tire changes were seen as early as in lap 7. The first shakeup among the top drivers came with Hamilton and Norris who pitted after laps 16 and 17 respectively. The Mercedes came out of the pit line in 7th and the McLaren fell behind the two Ferraris. Piastri, Verstappen, and Sainz all pitted slightly later. Leclerc became a temporary race leader when he became the only one of the top 6 without a pitstop underneath his belt. His P1 was very short-lived, before long the young Australian found himself back in the lead. 

Piastri, Norris, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Leclerc were the top 5 cars on track by lap 29. 

A fight for third broke out between Hamilton, Verstappen, and Leclerc with slightly more than 2 seconds separating their cars. Verstappen put a lot of pressure on Hamilton and even managed to overtake him for a few seconds, the Brit's great move helped him quickly retake the position. Leclerc stayed close behind the two. 

Two important things happened around that point of the race. Firstly, Norris was told that he was allowed to race his teammate should he catch up to him. Secondly, Pierre Gasly became the first and only retiree of the day, after suffering a suspected hydraulic leak. 

Since the race was suspected to require two tire changes, the second round of pitstops was crucial to the outcome. Both Hamilton and Leclerc pitted at lap 41, while their immediate competition, Verstappen, stayed on track for a few laps more. The Dutchman disagreed with his team's chosen strategy and grew more infuriated with every passing minute, especially once he realised that there was a big risk he would be undercut by Ferrari's 2025 lineup once he came in for a pit stop of his own. 

When it comes to the McLarens, lap 46 was where the race became truly interesting since that was when Norris was told to come in for his second change of tires. The teams' intention was that he would focus on covering off Hamilton, while Piastri could put all his effort into winning his first-ever Grand Prix. The decision quickly led to the emergence of a question they didn't expect: Would the strategy end with Norris undercutting Piastri? The answer came a few laps later. While it was very close between the two cars, upon Piastri's pit exit it was Norris who found himself ahead. 

Since the team never intended for the Brit to get past Piastri, he was asked to reestablish the previous order. The request did not come in the form of a strict team order, but rather information that this was what he was expected to do for the wellbeing of the team. 

Verstappen, the provisional race leader, came into the pits at lap 49. He drove out behind both Hamilton and Leclerc. He wasn't shy to let his team know that he believed they had made his job much harder and that they had made the wrong call. By lap 57 he caught up to the Monegasque and set his sights on Silverstone's winner. He tried to overtake him on lap 63. The move seemed like it could be successful until the wheel of his Red Bull locked up, changing the way the car moved and leading to contact with the Mercedes. The back of Verstappen's vehicle was lifted into the air and the driver was forced onto the run-off area. He managed to rejoin the race but, once again, ended up behind both Hamilton and Leclerc. 

Throughout the last laps of the race, McLaren continuously told Norris to let his teammate pass him. As his answer, the frustrated Brit kept increasing the gap between the two and even said on the radio that if Piastri wanted the switch to happen he should catch up to him. Still, no team order was made. Norris relented on lap 68 and slowed down to let his young teammate through. 

In the end, it was Piastri who stood at the top step of the podium, achieving his maiden Formula One win in only his second season in the series. The occasion was made even sweeter with the additional reward of being voted the driver of the day. Norris came in second, fulfilling the 1-2 that McLaren was aiming for. Hamilton, ever so impressive, achieved his 200th career podium.

Two drivers who deserve a special mention are Perez, who started in 16th, and Russel who started in 17th, as both ended the race in the top 10. The Red Bull driver came in 7th, while the Mercedes driver came in 8th and scored an additional point for the fastest lap of the race. 

Still, the hero of the race was undoubtedly Piastri, the first driver born after the year 2000 to win an F1 race. No matter the circumstances, he deserved to stand at the top step of the podium for what I am sure is the first time of many. 

Order of the grid:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Lando Norris

3. Lewis Hamilton

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Max Verstappen

6. Carlos Sainz

7. Sergio Perez

8. George Russel

9. Yuki Tsunoda

10. Lance Stroll

11. Fernando Alonso

12. Daniel Ricciardo

13. Nico Hulkenberg

14. Alex Albon

15. Kevin Magnussen

16. Valtteri Bottas

17. Logan Sargeant

18. Esteban Ocon

19. Zhou Guanyu

DNF: Pierre Gasly