Hungary - Race

After Charles Leclerc's sensational pole, the scene was set for the 40th Grand Prix held at the 'Monaco without walls', also known as the Hungaroring. As three in the afternoon came around, the temperature was low and the sky cloudy. But this time, unlike in Belgium, there was no delay in the start.

Despite the ominous statistic showing that the lead of the Hungarian Grand Prix is often lost at its first corner, Leclerc stayed at the front of the field throughout the whole first lap. It wasn't for McLarens' lack of trying, Oscar Piastri did everything he could to clear the Ferrari. He had to settle for no change in position, which still put him in a much better situation than the one his teammate had found himself in. Lando Norris focused on attacking Piastri and left the door wide open for George Russell and Fernando Alonso to move past. When the dust settled, he was in P5, a far cry from the P2 he had hoped to be in.

As positions shuffled in the back, Norris retook fourth position from Alonso. This pushed the oldest driver on the grid right into the claws of Gabriel Bortoleto. Usually, Sauber would be thrilled to see one of their drivers in a fight for P5, but their excitement was overshadowed by a concerning message from race control: both Bortoleto and his teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, had been noted for moving before the starting signal. While the charge was waived off for Bortoleto, Hulkenberg received a five-second penalty for the false start. 

The first cars made their way to the pits around lap 14, confirming that for a lot of drivers, the Hungarian Grand Prix was set to be a two-stop race. Piastri was the first out of the drivers battling for the lead to change his tires. He did so on lap 18 and came out fifth. He was hoping to undercut Leclerc's Ferrari, but, having pitted a lap later, the Monegasque stayed ahead. Norris became the new race leader, and it quickly became clear that his strategy would be drastically different from that of his teammate: he was ready to make the race a one-stop. He pitted on lap 32 and came out fourth, but on much fresher tires than his immediate competition. As Norris began chasing Russell, Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton shared a dangerous moment on track. Nothing happened to either driver, but the incident was said to be investigated after the race. 

Leclerc decided to change his tires for the second time on lap 41. Piastri didn't immediately follow his lead. He pitted after four more laps and came out behind the Monegasque. Fortunately for him, but unfortunately for all Tifosi, the pure pace that Leclerc had exhibited in the first half of the race was simply gone in his second stint. The driver was furious as he berated his team over the radio, claiming that if they had just listened to him, they would have been in a much better situation. The viewers never got to find out what exactly he was referring to in his rant. 

He was caught by Piastri on lap 51 and then overtaken by Russell on lap 62, losing out not only on a win, but also a podium. On top of that, he received a five-second penalty for a move he pulled when Russell was making his way past. He wasn't the only driver to receive a penalty towards the end of the Grand Prix:  Pierre Gasly saw ten seconds added to his time after causing a collision with Sainz. 

With only a handful of laps to go, the fight for the win was still not over. Norris had found himself in the front due to McLaren's good strategy, but Piastri, having dealt with Leclerc, used his fresher tires to get closer and closer with every passing lap. The gap melted until, on lap 65, Piastri was within Norris' DRS. This gave him six laps to find a move that would win him the race. He worked as hard as he could and got very close on a few occasions, but, ultimately, he couldn't catch his teammate. Piastri, Norris, and Leclerc all entered the race hoping to achieve a 9th career win. After 70, great for some and heartbreaking for others, laps, it was the Brit who crossed the finish line first. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. Oscar Piastri

3. George Russell

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Fernando Alonso

6. Gabriel Bortoleto

7. Lance Stroll

8. Liam Lawson

9. Max Verstappen

10. Kimi Antonelli

11. Isack Hadjar

12. Lewis Hamilton

13. Nico Hulkenberg

14. Carlos Sainz

15. Alex Albon

16. Esteban Ocon

17. Yuki Tsunoda

18. Franco Colapinto

19. Pierre Gasly

DNF: Oliver Bearman