The nine-point gap between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship after the latter won the Hungarian Grand Prix means the title battle will be back to square one after the break.
Norris made sure that his teammate would not run away with this year's Title; having won three of the last four races, Piastri only won in Spa.
And we should be happy this is the case in a season that McLaren are dominating with Max Verstappen's challenge fading away as the reigning F1 champion now needs a miracle to retain his title while the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari wake up every now and then but then go back into hibernation, unable to maintain a stable performance trend—Charles Leclerc in Hungary is a prime example.
Now F1 enters its real summer break—unlike the one between the British and Belgian GPs—and it is well deserved for all those involved within the sport in a 24-race season.
Back to the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend; it was an interesting F1 race with quite a lot to discuss, which is what we will do in this Takeaways column.
Piastri vs Norris
While Piastri won at Spa in an attempt to slow his teammate down, Norris took the win in Hungary, and an impressive one, and while he may still be second in the F1 Drivers' Standings, he holds the advantage going into the summer break.
It must have been painful for Piastri to lose this one. After all, he should've been worried about Leclerc, as Norris qualified third and dropped back at the start of the race, but the Briton was in his element, and when the suggestion of going with a one-stop strategy was brought up by his engineer, he took it, as he had nothing to lose at that point of the race.
After that, Norris drove a sublime race, taking care of his tyres and keeping them alive enough to keep a Piastri on the attack at bay, not cracking under pressure, all to the frustration of the Australian, who performed a dive bomb on the penultimate lap, which could've ended in tears, and also sparked a reminder from the pit wall reminding the #81 McLaren how racing a teammate is supposed to be.
It was Norris' day, and he would not be denied, and all that is good news for the Championship and the fans, as we can look forward to an intriguing battle between the Papaya cars, especially as Verstappen has enough on his plate right now.
Nine points in the Championship Standings are nothing, and so when racing resumes at Zandvoort at the end of the summer break, the fight will start from scratch.
Laurent Mekies now realizes what he is up against
The Hungarian Grand Prix was Laurent Mekies' second race at the helm of Red Bull Racing, and the least that can be said about it is that it was the Frenchman's baptism of fire.
The team's RB21 was at its worst that weekend, the balance all over the place, and while Red Bull Racing are known for finding gains between Friday and Saturday, that was not the case in Hungary.
As a result, Verstappen qualified eighth, beaten by a Sauber and two Aston Martins, and the onboard footage from his Q3 lap is just proof of how the RB21 was handling, as the Dutchman, with all his genius, could not keep it in check as it understeered and oversteered all over the track.
While Spa was not a great weekend for Verstappen, at least he won the Sprint Race, which meant Mekies wasn't slapped in the face on his debut as the boss of Red Bull Racing.
But now, Mekies has a lot to ponder over the summer break, as he has surely realized the situation in which his team currently is and the monumental tasks he faces to turn the situation around.
The only positive thing for Red Bull Racing now is that Verstappen announced in Hungary that he will honor his contract with the team for 2026, but what about 2027 and beyond?
We have said before that the smart thing was for Verstappen to monitor the F1 landscape in 2026 when the new regulations are launched and then decide his future.
Mekies doesn't have a lot of time to try and keep the four-time F1 champion at Milton Keynes.
Ferrari's bizarre weekend
Leclerc was downplaying his chances ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, and he wasn't lying, as it was clear that beating the McLarens was no mean feat.
The Monegasque was the best of the rest throughout the weekend, while Lewis Hamilton struggled, but the gap to the McLarens was too big for him to realistically target pole position in qualifying.
But then the weather decided to join the party, and while track temperatures were over 50 degrees Celsius as qualifying was given the green light, the clouds gathered and the temperatures dropped considerably.
In Q3, the track temperatures were so low that Leclerc's Ferrari came alive, and he delivered one of his trademark last-minute banzai qualifying laps to take pole while both McLarens lost their edge.
In the race, Leclerc did not put a foot wrong, maintaining his lead, but then a mysterious chassis issue hit his SF-25, and from there on he struggled, dropping behind both McLarens and even being beaten by Mercedes' George Russell for the final podium position.
It was another one of those races where Ferrari, for one reason or another, shot themselves in the foot and managed to throw away another decent result, in this particular case a win, which would've been their first in 2025.
Not the best way to celebrate Fred Vasseur's contract extension.
What now for Hamilton
Whether you were a Hamilton fan or not, you had to feel for the seven-time F1 Champion after a disastrous weekend in Hungary.
The Briton was knocked out of Qualifying in Q2, which was more painful since Leclerc took pole in the other car, and dwelling on what could have been, I mean, if Hamilton had made Q3 when track temperatures suited the Ferrari, would've made matters more painful for him.
It is not the first time we have seen Lewis downbeat, but it was never as bad as it was back in Hungary with all the statements he has been giving. Granted, he is not at his peak anymore, but he hasn't forgotten how to drive an F1 car, that's for sure.
Something is not right between Hamilton and Ferrari at the moment, with talks about his work ethics clashing with the Ferrari culture, and it seems the honeymoon between them is over.
I cannot say I am privy to details of what is happening between Ferrari and Hamilton, but he would not be the first driver or champion they manage to break. Remember Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel? Both were destroyed after their Ferrari tenures, but each reacted differently. Alonso imploded, while poor Vettel just faded away...
Is this the same ending Hamilton is facing now?
As I said, I don't know what is going on aside from rumors we hear, but Ferrari should do the best they can to make it work with Hamilton.
If their cultures are clashing, maybe they should try his culture, as that is what won him his six titles with Mercedes, while Ferrari have been scrambling around for a title since 2008.
Hopefully both Ferrari and Lewis do some reflecting over the break and find a way to make it work when racing resumes for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Hungarian GP Quick Hits
- An impressive weekend for Aston Martin in Hungary, as those greens suddenly delivered some serious performance out of the blue. I bet the team's engineers are still scratching their heads trying to find out why their AMR25 was good aside from the PR crap Mike Krack delivered when asked why his team was so good, which is probably due to the track layout, which suited the AMR25 with its high downforce and high drag nature.
Despite missing out on FP1 for back pain, Alonso again was the better Aston Martin driver, but it was not a bad weekend for Lance Stroll. - For the second race in a row, Gabriel Bortoleto scored points after a great qualifying performance as well. The Brazilian is starting to show his potential.
- Mercedes reverted to an older suspension in Hungary trying to find out why their W16's performance dropped. Toto Wolff said there was no crisis.
If going back to an older spec and improving is not a crisis, I don't know what is!!! - Liam Lawson has had another solid weekend with the Racing Bulls. Is he finding the form we thought we had before being destroyed at Red Bull Racing at the start of the season?
Enjoy the break, and catch you after the Dutch Grand Prix.
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