"Oscar Piastri Formula 1 winner!" Always a great headline to write as the Australian sealed his immortality by becoming the sport's 115th winner at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix.
It took his McLaren team a 15-minute spell of begging Lando Norris for Piastri to be given the victory he deserved. But so did Norris who was big enough to play the team game, after his strategy played out better after he fumbled his pole position start, and dropped to third, as Piastri took the early lead.
Verstappen also got past but was told to cede the position as he broke track limits exiting Turn 1 and gained an advantage. This triggered an afternoon of complaints from the World Champion.
The day instead belonged to McLaren. Piastri in particular and Norris our Driver of the Day for playing the team game, albeit reluctantly. Respect that he did so. Many would not have done what he did today.
That's not to detract from Piastri. Who from P2 on the grid, found himself in the lead out of Turn 1 and stayed there until the end. Sort of. because Norris was quick all day and led by four seconds when the call came for the swap. He taunted the team, had them begging then grovelling before he relinquished.
Piastri, a F1 Sprint Race winner but never a Grand Prix winner, said: "Very, very special. This is really the day I dreamed of as a kid, standing on the top step of an F1 podium.
"Obviously, a bit complicated at the end, but I put myself in the right position at the start, and thank you to the team for an amazing effort and an amazing car.
"It’s a hell of a lot of fun racing with McLaren. I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to be in F1, and to be winning together 18 months in is an incredible feeling."
Piastri: Hopefully there’s many more to come
The first of many? Piastri replied: "I hope so. I think I’ve still got some things to work on. I’ll enjoy the win when I can. The team’s given me a great car and really can’t thank them enough for that. I’m trying to do the best job I can and I’m learning every race I do. So hopefully there’s many more to come."
Norris added: “An amazing day for us as a team, I think that’s the main thing honestly. I’m so happy. It’s been a long journey. To get to achieving this on merit is exactly what we did today. We were a long way clear of the rest. We did it in style as well. Oscar had a good start, he got me off the line and he controlled the race well. He was coming at some point and he deserved it."
As for the apparently reluctant victory wave past for teammate Piastri, Norris explained: “The team asked me to do it, so I did it and that’s it." No Lando, they begged and grovelled
Fittingly, McLaren great Lewis Hamilton was P3 for Mercedes, making it an unforgettable podium for Zak Brown's team led superbly by Andrea Stella.
Hamilton and Verstappen went wheel to wheel as they battled for P3, with the Red Bull driver in fresher rubber, overshooting his brake marks as he tapped the Mercedes, getting airborne briefly. That cost him time and allowed Hamilton to finish P3, 14 seconds adrift of the Mercedes customer team.
Hamilton: I saw him coming from a long way back
![Hamilton: I saw [Verstappen] coming from a long way back](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTBKlBQXQAAqdbd?format=jpg&name=large)
Speaking to MC Nico Rosberg in Parc Ferme after the race, Hamilton tipped his hat to his old team: "A huge congratulations to McLaren on the one-two. That’s my old, original family so I’m really happy to see the whole team back up front.
"And then for us today, the team has done a great job to continue on with pushing this car. Ultimately we didn’t have the pace of the McLarens or the Red Bulls, but we just were able to hold on at the beginning of the race and it was very, very tough to hold on and make those tyres."
On the Verstappen battle, Hamilton said: "I saw him coming from a long way back and he was able to brake a lot later than me, but he sent it up the inside, I stayed still, and he clipped the wheel and went over. I think a racing incident."
The seven-time F1 World Champion had a good word to say to the F1's newest winner: "Amazing, congratulations to Oscar. He’s been doing a fantastic job ever since he got here, to be honest. But he’s been so consistent and it was only a matter of time before he got a win.
"So this is a great day for him. He had amazing pace from the get-go. I’m really happy for him and his family," added Hamilton, who celebrated his 200th F1 podium today in Hungary.
Behind him, Verstappen's late-race mistake allowed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to nip past to take P4. The Red Bull ace next up in P5. But was facing a visit to the FIA appointed F1 Stewards after the race.
Verstappen seemed angry all weekend
Normally that's a good sign. But at Hungaroring, he was unusually scrappy and overly petulant. The anger probably cost him a podium and showed that he can be childish despite the three F1 titles he has amassed. That's just how Max is wired.
P6 went to Carlos Sainz who messed up his start, he messed up his start from P4 on the grid and was playing catch-up all afternoon.
Beleaguered Sergio Perez kept the Red Bull on the black stuff, carving his way from P16 on the grid (after another woeful Qualifying) to p7 by the end of the 70-lap race. Also out of position, not because of bad form like the Mexican, George Russell recovered from P17 to P8 in his Mercedes.
Yuki Tsunoda turned his P10 start into P9 by the end of the race. Lance Stroll claimed the final point on a day more was expected from the Aston Martin in the wake of their Row 4 lockout. But race pace was woeful, and Fernando Alonso lost interest along the way.
The result is a big win for McLaren on the 2024 F1 World Championship front and a hammer blow to Constructors' Championship leaders Red Bull.
The 71-point gap they enjoyed at the top of the standings pre-Hungary, is now down to 51 over McLaren in P2. Ferrari were bumped down to P3, 16 points down on McLaren after 13 Rounds.
On 265 points, Verstappen retains a commanding lead in the 2024 F1 Drivers' standings over Norris in P2 on 189 points. Leclerc is P3 followed by Sainz and Piastri.
Stella: None of us the team, Lando or Oscar can go it alone
In closing final word to winning McLaren team principal Andrea Stella on the near stand-off between his drivers and the team orders that resulted in victory for Piastri: “I think it was a little bit more than that single comment and message from Will [Joseph].
"There’s an entire approach to racing that we have with our team and drivers. We are in this trajectory together. None of us – the team, Lando or Oscar – can go alone. That’s the message that we discussed on Sunday morning.
“We are extremely pleased by how our drivers are supporting the trajectory of McLaren which is incredible. For me, that’s the news today. We can talk a little more about Lando and Oscar, but the message is there is a P1-2 in qualifying and a P1-P2 in the race.
"That’s incredible and I would like to thank and praise all the work of the men and women at McLaren for making this possible," added Stella.
2024 Hungarian Grand Prix Result
2024 Hungarian Grand Prix as it unfolded
The top six on the grid are all on Pirelli medium tyres. Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll on the fourth row start with on Softs. Perez P16 and Russell P17 on Hard tyres.
Some drama around the Norris McLaren in P1 on the grid, throttle-related. Gasly starting from the pit lane
Norris gets a good start leads leaning into Piastri who also had a quick one, with Verstappen in the mix. The Red Bull goes -ultra-wide around Turn 1, and rejoins P2 with Piastri sneaking into the lead as Norris tripped up down to P3. Hamilton up to P4. Leclerc P5 and Alonso P6h with Sainz down from P4 to P7
Lap 2: Sainz passes Alonso unable to defend into Turn 1 while Norris and Verstappen complain about the Turn 1 move, which F1 Stewards start to investigate. But Red Bull tell their driver to hand back the position to Norris. Max obeyed but did moan a bit. No further investigation.
Lap 6: Piastri has opened up a 2.3s gap to Norris, who remains under pressure from Max Verstappen.
Lap 7: Albon, Ocon and Magnussen stop very early for Hards.
Lap 8: Now Alonso, Ricciardo and Zhou stop for Hards to cover the undercut from the drivers who stopped a lap earlier
Lap 9: Norris has opened up a two-second gap to Max Verstappen. Piastri's lead over his teammate is 2.6s. Sargeant stops for Hard tyres.
Lap 10, Top 10
Lap 11: Leclerc has closed the gap on Hamilton in P4 to just 1.5s.
Lap 14: Stroll pits from P7 emerging P16
Lap 16: Hamilton was only 1.2s down on Verstappen when he dipped into the pits. Verstappen and Norris stay out.
Lap 19: Piastri pits from the lead by 2.5s ahead of Norris.
Lap 21: Verstappen pits on lap 21 emerging P5 five seconds behind Hamilton, ahead of Tsunoda.
Lap 22: Sainz first Ferrari driver to pitstop.
Lap 28: Perez's pits and emerges P15.
Lap 30, Top 10
Lap 31: Verstappen versus Hamilton for P3 was brewing. The top seven are on Pirelli Hards, Alonso and Stroll on Mediums were P8 and P10 respectively. Tsunoda on Hards was P10 with Medium shod Perez in P11 and closing.
Lap 33: Piastri's lead slashed by half to Norris down to 2.5s after the Australian went wide and lost time, with Hamilton five seconds further back and Verstappen stalking the Mercedes. Ferrari duo a further 5.0 seconds back, with Leclerc ahead of Sainz.
Lap 34. Verstappen hounding Hamilton on five laps with fresher tyres.
Lap 35: Verstappen tries a lap later to get by in Turn 1 and then went too wide into Turn 2. Old foes nose to tail. This allowed Leclerc to catch them up with fresher rubber.
Lap 41: Hamilton nips into the pits, with Leclerc following the Merc strategy. Piastri has lead over Norris pegged at around 1.8s with Verstappen P3 moaning to his team about being undercut as he chased 10 seconds behind the McLarens. Sainz was a further eight seconds down in P4.
Lap 46: Norris pits from P2.
Lap 47: Piastri pits from P1, with Sainz. Norris took the lead, and the undercut worked. Verstappen 7.4s benhind the McLarens.
Lap 48: Norris asked to cede the lead to Piastri. At this point the gap between the pair was 3.5s.
Lap 50, Top 10
Lap 50: Verstappen pits from the lead of seven seconds and emerges P5, behind Leclerc and Hamilton.
Lap 51: Perez up to P8 and setting fastest laps, with Russell behind him in P9. The pair up nine positions from where they started on the grid.
Lap 55: Mind games between Norris and Piastri, the Aussie told there will be a swap if he catches his McLaren teammate.
Lap 57: Verstappen gets past Leclerc for P4. Hamilton in P3 is 1.9s ahead of the World Champ at this point. The Norris-Piastri swap... Will it happen? The gap grows.
Lap 64: Verstappen stalking Hamilton. Into Turn 1, the Red Bull overshot and made contact went airborne before going wide as Hamilton scurried ahead and Leclerc passed by. Verstappen's anger was getting the better of him. He was seething.
Lap 65: Meanwhile;e at the front, Norris was not happy to move over. The call came again, prompting the driver to argue his case. Eventually, he relented. Paistri was let through for his first GP win.
2024 Hungarian Grand Prix Preview: McLaren boys vs nemesis Verstappen
I've lost count of how many times Max Verstappen has denied McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri victories and even pole positions, the Formula 1 World Champion could not claim P1 for today's Hungarian Grand Prix. Can the Red Bull ace beat them on race day yet again?
[Note: This report will make way for the race report immediately after the Hungarian Grand Prix. Please refresh the page for the updated version. Thank you. Enjoy the Race!]
An all-McLaren front row in F1, the first lock-out in 12 years, does not necessarily mean a one-two at the end of the race at Hungaroring today. Norris knows that anything less than a win will be a disappointment, and Piastri knows he has a role to play in making the double happen.
Of course, Verstappen - not impressed with the upgrades to the RB20 - is angry, and seemed to be fuming in the press conference after a tense and long Qualifying in Hungary on Saturday. An angry Max is a very fast Max. Be warned Andrea Stella and the crew!
The top three on the grid were separated by a minuscule 0.046s, head and shoulders better than the rest, with Carlos Sainz popping up P4 albeit four-tenths of a second adrift of the trio.
Behind Sainz, it is ultra-tight, with less than a second separating the next half-dozen or so drivers on the grid. Hungary could deliver a cracker of race, simply because of the tight and tricky nature of the circuit, the conditions and the fact that starting P1 is not always a recipe for success.
Who of the top three on the grid will win the Hungarian Grand Prix?
The euphoria of Silverstone and Red Bull Ring are things of the past, the reality check for Mercedes at Hungaroing is P5 for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the latter let down by his team and has to do all today from P17 on the grid. The next Mercedes F1 team leader's composure in battle will be tested, and he needs to keep it clean.
Eight-time Hungarian GP winner, Sir Lewis can never be discounted as he showed at home last time out. Coincidentally he starts P5, with his future Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc beside him on the third row.
Realistically the winner and the other two podium contenders are likely to be among those six. Who it will be is anyone's guess.
Other Hungary side shows to watch out for?
- Checo crashed and will line up P16 behind the other three Red Bull-backed cars and needs a mega-recovery to set his wobbling form back on track. What next?
- Aston Martin looking good with Lance and Fernando launching from the all-Green fourth-row. Is the car good enough for a podium shot in the veteran Spaniard's hands?
- VCARB duo annexing Row 5, both need to up their game as summer comes and Silly Season looks to be getting sillier during the boredom of the forthcoming summer break.
- WTF Alpine?
- Who shunts first: Checo? Checo? Checo? Or Logan of course? Oh yes, should we forget Charles?
Hungarian Grand Prix Formula 1 Facts & Stats by Reuters
- Venue: Hungaroring, Budapest'
- Round 13 of the 24-race 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
- Lap distance: 4.381km. Total distance: 306.630km (70 laps)
- 2023 pole position: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes one minute 16.609 seconds
- 2023 race winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull
- Race lap record: Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:16.627 (2020)
- Start time: 1300 GMT (1500 local time)
Hungarian Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton has won a record eight times in Hungary (2007, 2009 and 2012 with McLaren and 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 with Mercedes) and been on pole a record nine times including last year.
- Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, RB's Daniel Ricciardo, Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Verstappen are other past winners.
- The lowest winning start in Hungary was Jenson Button from 14th on the grid in 2006. Verstappen won from 10th in 2022 and Hamilton was third in 2014 after starting from the pit lane.
- This weekend will be the 39th Hungarian Grand Prix, with 16 of them won from pole. The race debuted in 1986 as the first behind the former 'Iron Curtain'.
- Verstappen took his first F1 pole in Hungary in 2019. Alonso and Ocon took their first wins there in 2003 and 2021 respectively.
- The circuit is narrow, twisty and short and sometimes referred to as 'Monaco without the walls'. There are 14 corners. Overtaking has proved difficult in the past. Mercedes have been on pole for the last four editions of the race.
2024 Formula 1 World Championship
- Verstappen has led the championship for a record 51 successive races dating back to Spain in May 2022.
- The World Champ arrives in Hungary 84 points clear of McLaren's Lando Norris.
- Red Bull are 71 points clear of Ferrari.
Victories, Pole Positions & Podiums
- Four teams -- Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes -- have won a race this season, the most since 2021 when Red Bull, Mercedes, Alpine and McLaren won.
- Six different drivers have also triumphed.
- Verstappen has won seven of 12 races, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz triumphant in Melbourne, Norris in Miami, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in Monaco, Mercedes's George Russell in Spain and Hamilton in Britain.
- Ferrari and Mercedes have both had two winning drivers this season.
- Hamilton has a record 104 career victories from 344 starts. His win at Silverstone last time out was his first since 2021 and ended a run of 56 races without a win -- a wait of 945 days in total.
- Red Bull have won 120 races and are fourth in the all-time list of winners. Ferrari lead with 245, McLaren have 184 and Mercedes 127.
- Verstappen has won 61 grands prix and is third on the all-time list. Michael Schumacher is second on 91.
- Hamilton has a record 104 career poles, his most recent in Hungary last year.
- Verstappen has had eight poles so far this year. That includes the first seven of the season, equalling Alain Prost's 1993 record, and eight in a row including the last race of 2023 -- equalling Ayrton Senna's 1988-89 record.
- Leclerc took pole in Monaco and Russell was fastest in Canada and Britain. Norris took the top spot in Spain.
- Verstappen has 107 career podiums, Hamilton 199.
- Verstappen has been on the podium nine times this season, Norris seven, Leclerc and Sainz five each.
Milestone
- This is the 39th edition of the Hungarian GP
- Hamilton can make his 200th F1 podium appearance on Sunday.
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