Lando Norris withstood a late, thrilling challenge from Oscar Piastri to win the Hungarian Grand Prix, narrowing his world championship rival’s lead to nine points.
Norris, initially in fourth, strategically benefited from one fewer pit stop for tires than his competitors, securing his fifth victory of the season.
The British driver crossed the finish line just six tenths of a second ahead of Piastri, who nearly collided with Norris on the second-to-last lap when he locked up his front-right tire at the first corner.
“Remember how we go racing, Oscar,” his race engineer, Tom Stallard, warned.
George Russell overtook Charles Leclerc with eight laps remaining to claim the final podium position.
Pole-sitter Leclerc ultimately finished fourth. Lewis Hamilton, who had expressed frustration with Ferrari after qualifying only 12th, ended the race in the same position, a lap behind.
Norris’s victory in the final race before the summer break – his third win in the last four races – reignites his hopes of securing his first world championship title.
The Bristolian can consider himself fortunate to have stood on the top step of the podium.
Norris started third, and although he had a good start, an attempt to overtake Piastri on the inside of the first corner backfired. Norris didn’t fully commit to the move, leaving him vulnerable, and allowing Russell and then Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to pass him.
On lap three, Norris managed to pass Alonso but found himself behind Russell, struggling to make further progress.
On Saturday, Hamilton described his performance as “absolutely useless” after being eliminated in Q2. Leclerc, in the other Ferrari, had secured the Scuderia’s first pole position of the year.
By the end of the first lap, Hamilton had dropped behind Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli, finding himself in 14th position. After eight laps, he was 20 seconds behind Leclerc, and by the end of lap 14, he trailed his teammate by half a minute.
Piastri was the first of the leaders to pit, switching to hard tires on lap 18. Ferrari, reacting to Piastri’s move, brought Leclerc in on the following lap.
On fresh tires, Piastri was quicker than Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver managed to stay ahead. Russell also pitted on lap 19, promoting Norris to the lead.
Further back, Max Verstappen, also on fresh tires, was close behind Hamilton, who had yet to pit, battling for 11th place.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton at Turn 4 on lap 29, forcing the seven-time world champion off the track. The stewards will investigate the incident after the race.
Returning to the front, McLaren were now considering a one-stop strategy for Norris. His race engineer, Will Joseph, radioed him: “Lando, 40 laps on the hard tire, you up for it?”
Norris replied: “Yeah, why not?”
On lap 31 of 70, he pitted for his only tire change before setting the fastest laps of the race.
Norris then ran two wheels through the gravel on the exit of the chicane, which Joseph was unhappy about.
“Lando, just keep the focus, we don’t want these mistakes,” he advised.
Both Leclerc and Piastri were forced to pit again on laps 40 and 45, respectively. Norris now led Leclerc by seven seconds, with Piastri five seconds further back.
But Piastri was making progress, overtaking Leclerc on lap 51 and then starting to close Norris’s nine-second advantage.
With five laps to go, Piastri was just a second behind, and on the penultimate lap, he attempted an aggressive move at the first corner, but Norris held his lead to secure a win that could be pivotal in his championship challenge.
Alonso finished fifth, one place ahead of rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. Verstappen finished ninth, with Hamilton fighting his way past Pierre Gasly and then Sainz but ultimately finishing outside of the points in a disappointing weekend for the 40-year-old.
“I am dead, I am dead,” Norris exclaimed. “We were not planning on the one stop, but it was our only chance after the first lap. I have pushed hard, and my voice has gone a little bit, but it was the perfect result today.”
“We are so close in the championship, it is hard to say if the momentum is on either side, but it is fun racing against Oscar, and I just about held on so I look forward to plenty more of these.”
Piastri said: “I pushed as hard as I could. After I saw Lando take on the one stop, I knew I would have to overtake on track and that is easier said than done.”
