Lando Norris had plenty of pace in the Hungarian Grand Prix — and, on this occasion, a useful slice of fortune to go with it. The world champion was frequently the quickest driver on track and had the speed to justify victory on merit.
Yet his route back to the front was also shaped by a strange setback for McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, a twist that reopened the door Norris had earned with pole position but appeared to compromise with a poor opening lap.
The first of two decisive moments arrived on lap 38, just after Piastri had made his second pit stop and was attempting to claw his way back into contention for the lead. Ahead of him, Williams driver Carlos Sainz — cast here as the obstacle in McLaren’s path — was locked in a battle with Fernando Alonso for 15th place.
Caught up in that fight, Sainz seemed unaware that Piastri was closing rapidly to lap him. The blue flags were out, and the Spaniard was expected to move aside. Instead, he held his line.
Piastri’s frustration crackled over the radio. “Get out of the f***ing way, you idiot,” he snapped, before the pair made contact. “Oh, my God!”
Lando Norris returned to the top step of the podium with a dominant victory in Hungary
The British driver was challenged by team-mate Oscar Piastri before regaining control
The delay cost Piastri precious time, while Norris took full advantage in clean air. When Norris was brought in at the end of the next lap, he rejoined ahead of the other papaya McLaren — and with that, the job was effectively done.
Piastri was furious. Obviously with Sainz. But also, it seemed, with his McLaren team for granting Norris freedom to open up an advantage for seven laps after his own stop.
Piastri’s race engineer Tom Stallard came on the radio, to pacify him, saying: ‘Oscar, it’s Sainz that cost us. Target is to get to the end on these tyres.’
Piastri rejoined: ‘Oh, mate, just don’t talk to me now.
‘Nice of you guys to factor that one (the traffic) in by the way, thanks.’
If he believes the team pull for Norris, their hand-reared champion, rather than him, this reverse would hardly have put his mind to rest.
The second and final slice of luck working for Norris came as Piastri, who seemed set to finish second, conked out with a gearbox problem, his race over on lap 56 of 70.
Thus, without any concerns at all, Norris went on to claim the first win of his title defence, indeed since the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last November.
Now more drama ensued as a virtual safety car was enlisted. Lewis Hamilton, on a unravelling weekend for him given what riches it promised, had succeeded the stricken Piastri in the running order.
This was not to last. Norris came in for new tyres and so did Hamilton. For Norris, fine, back out in top spot. But Hamilton emerged from the pits virtually level with third-placed Kimi Antonelli, and, although the seven-time world champion pushed himself ahead of the Italian into and out of the first corner, it was not legit.
Was he speeding in the pits? He was placed under investigation for the suspected offence and handed a five-second penalty a few minutes later. ‘They are handing out penalties like crazy,’ said Hamilton, though he later relented in his criticism of the beak.
He had already been told by his pit wall to hand the place back to Antonelli, but that is not quite how it stayed: yes, Norris took the flag first, Max Verstappen second (because he did not stop under the VSC) and Antonelli third. But Hamilton’s penalty dropped him below team-mate Charles Leclerc and into fifth place.
What a headache for Hamilton, who had started where he was condemned to finish after being demoted three places on Saturday for inadvertently blocking Piastri in qualifying. Instead of clipping Antonelli’s championship lead by six points, as he was due to do prior to the Australian’s retirement, he fell five points back. He is 50 behind Antonelli heading into the sport’s summer holidays.
A thought: why didn’t Ferrari slow down Leclerc? Do they not want to win the drivers’ title?
George Russell, seventh on the day, is now 59 adrift, nine points down on his starting position. Not great for the Briton, but not the worst outcome given how he watched the field fly by him at the start as anti-stall kicked in on his Mercedes. He went down to 19th at the end of lap one, but, helped by a new engine fitted after the race, came through the midfield.
‘I am past the point of disappointment now,’ said Russell, with a resigned smile. ‘If I continue to be disappointed with everything that goes on, I’ll be disappointed every day of the week.
‘My pace was as strong as anyone out there, and I haven’t been there for the past two or three races, so I will take the positives there. But it is unbelievable the list of things that have gone wrong this season.
Norris benefited from Oscar Piastri’s spectacular capitulation on Sunday afternoon
Lewis Hamilton fell further back in the championship race to Kimi Antonelli
‘I was on the throttle holding the revs, and four seconds before the lights went out the engines started revving all over the place – the engine wasn’t reacting to the throttle. It is a brand new engine. No idea.’
There was little overtaking to savour, though Verstappen made a brilliant pass on Hamilton at the first corner – named after his (Verstappen’s) de facto father-in-law Nelson Piquet. He caught the Briton by surprise, a typical Max mugging.
Piastri did not need to exert such virtuosity as an old Norris habit came back to haunt him, namely his weakness on first laps that has repeatedly cost him wins from promising starting positions, especially in 2024 when he had an outside chance of claiming the title a year before he did.
Norris was very smartly away from pole and took the first corner in command. But he drifted wide at the second bend, named after Hamilton, and Piastri assumed the lead.
Norris possessed more pace than his team-mate and harried him, but Piastri held track position until his afternoon unknotted itself. Norris finally streaked away, finishing 15 seconds up the road and out of sight, a smile back on the champion’s face after a welcome victory of persistence and pace as well as good fortune.
