Lando Norris from the McLaren team secured his first victory of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, held in Budapest. This win marked his twelfth career victory, and he achieved a triumph for McLaren over Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in Sunday's Grand Prix.
Race Results and Leadership
The 26-year-old Briton, who started on pole position, managed to recover after a poor first lap. He finished 15 seconds ahead of four-time champion Verstappen. In third place finished world champion Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton took fourth and fifth places, respectively, ahead of Isak Hajar in the second Red Bull car, George Russell in the second Mercedes car, and Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls.
Driver Positions and Comments
Nico Hulkenberg earned his first points of the season by finishing ninth for Audi, ahead of newcomer Arvid Lindblad in the second Racing Bulls car. Norris repeated last year's success at the Hungaroring track, where McLaren has won the last three years consecutively. Thanks to decisive driving in a tense race with various tire strategies, Antonelli increased his championship lead over Hamilton by 50 points.
After the race, Norris stated over the team radio: 'Great. The car was incredible today! It flew!' He added: 'This is probably the best pace I have ever had. This track suits us.' Verstappen, however, criticized his car but was pleased to secure another podium, noting: 'I didn't expect this – we had to work very hard for it.' Antonelli described the race as difficult, stating: 'It was so hard to overtake, but it's the best result for me before the break, and now we can keep pushing.'
Race Progression and Technical Details
The race began in hot conditions, reaching the highest temperature of the weekend—31°C air and 51°C on the track. Ferrari took a risk by using soft tires for the start, while all other teams started on mediums. Oscar Piastri started quickly and overtook Leclerc. When Norris went off track at the second corner, Piastri took the lead, and Hamilton overtook Leclerc, taking fourth place behind Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Russell's Mercedes car suffered a failure on the grid, dropping from sixth to twentieth place, while his teammate Antonelli advanced to sixth place. Hamilton tried unsuccessfully to attack Verstappen and began losing control by the tenth lap. Hamilton reported: 'Max is slow,' and made a pit stop for Verstappen's undercut on lap 14, returning to tenth place and overtaking Lindblad, before Red Bull called the Dutchman in on lap 15.
Verstappen pulled out behind Hamilton but regained his positions by making a pass on the inside at the first corner. Piastri pitted from the leading position, followed by Leclerc. The situation was extremely tense, and when Norris entered the pits, Antonelli took the lead. When the Italian driver stopped, he moved back to sixth place. Piastri led the race, followed by his teammate Norris. The Briton requested a stop, but McLaren first sent Piastri into the pits.
Midway through the race, Norris was five seconds ahead of Verstappen. Then Norris pitted from the leading position on lap 40 and returned to third place behind Piastri. The Australian narrowly avoided a serious collision with Williams' Carlos Sainz at the second corner, where they crashed. Sainz received a five-second penalty.
After another pit stop by Verstappen, Antonelli took the lead, with Norris following him. Norris, on fresher tires, regained the lead on lap 46, diving inside the young Italian at the first corner, and extended his advantage before Antonelli pitted again. Hopes for a McLaren 1-2 were dashed when Piastri slowed down and retired from the race due to gearbox issues, leading to the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car (VSC). Norris, Hamilton, and Leclerc immediately stopped for soft tires. In the final sprint, Norris led Verstappen, and Antonelli finished third, ahead of Hamilton, who received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
