Oscar Piastri admits he was always facing an uphill battle to overtake Lando Norris after his McLaren teammate’s one-stop strategy paved the way to victory at the Hungarian GP and left many of Piastri’s fans complaining about favouritism. Norris clung on with worn tyres as Piastri loomed behind him in the final laps, with the Briton’s race victory cutting the Aussie’s championship lead to to nine points heading into the mid-season break.
The McLaren teammates avoided a near-disaster on the second-last lap when Piastri tried to pass Norris and nearly collided with his teammate when he locked up a wheel. Fortunately, the incident didn’t prove costly but the Aussie’s move earnt a rebuke from his team. “Remember how we go racing, Oscar,” came the warning from his race engineer, Tom Stallard.
Oscar Piastri almost collided with Lando Norris on the second-last lap of the Hungarian GP as the Aussie’s McLaren teammate hung on for victory. Pic: Getty
Piastri tried everything to overtake Norris in a tense finish but it was his teammate that clung to victory in another one-two finish for McLaren, with Mercedes driver George Russell finishing third. Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc could only manage fourth, while four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen finished way back in ninth.
The Aussie driver admitted that overtaking Norris was always going to be “much easier said than done”, despite closing in to within touching distance of the race leader in the closing stages. It was a victory shaped as much by smart strategy as gritty driving. Norris briefly dropped to fifth on the first lap but made his tyres last to stop only once, while Piastri changed twice.
Fans question McLaren as Oscar Piastri has to settle for 2nd
“I pushed as hard as I could. I think after I saw Lando going for a one [stop], I knew I was going to have overtake on track, which is much easier said than done around here,” Piastri said after the race. “I tried a few things, it was a gamble either way, and today unfortunately we were just on the wrong side of it.
“The team did a great job, the car really came alive in the second half of the race, and the car’s been great all weekend – thank you to the team. I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks off.” While Piastri accepted his teammate’s win with class, the victory for Norris left many fans questioning the contrasting pit strategies that appeared to favour the British driver.
So McLaren wants Lando Norris to win. I get it – he is the senior driver, been around in the team for years. But Zak Brown should stop pretending he has two No. 1 drivers in the team. At this point they will do anything to favour Norris on strategy over Piastri. #HungariangGP #F1
— Payel Roy Maitra (@PayelRoy) August 3, 2025
Every driver gets hard done by the strategy from time to time, but it can’t be a coincidence anymore the amount of times Oscar Piastri gets screwed by the strategy to the benefit of Lando Norris.
May as well rebrand the team to McLando. #HungariangGP #F1 #Mclaren
— lachie (@lachxii) August 3, 2025
This is on the team and suck their Papaya Rules. Poor Oscar. It could’ve been a one stop. 👎🏻 #HungarianGP
— ash ✎ (@endpaige) August 3, 2025
Oscar is battling Norris and the team. If he wins this championship, it will be embarrassing for Norris #HungarianGP
— Amu⚠️ (@amogelang_me) August 3, 2025
Lando Norris claims victory after one-stop strategy
Piastri found himself trailing Norris after being stuck behind pole-sitter Leclerc in the opening stages, before making an early pitstop. The move proved decisive as McLaren opted for the one-stop strategy with Norris that ultimately proved the difference. When race engineer Will Joseph asked Norris on the radio, ‘Lando, 40 laps on the hard tyre, you up for it?’, the Briton replied: ‘Yeah, why not?’.
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The Aussie steadily cut into Norris’ lead in the latter stages of the race but the British driver held on with old tyres to take the win. “I’m dead. It was tough, it was tough,” Norris said. “The final stint, with Oscar catching, I was pushing flat out.
McLaren’s Lando Norris celebrates his victory in the Hungarian GP. Pic: Getty
“Good racing. Good strategy. Good call,” was how Norris summed it up on the team radio afterwards. For the dominant McLaren drivers, it was their seventh 1-2 finish of the season and the team’s 11th victory in 14 races in 2025, extending their lead over Ferrari to 299 points in the constructors’ championship.
Russell took third for Mercedes after fighting his way past Leclerc in a contest that earned the Ferrari driver a time penalty for nearly colliding with Russell. Leclerc was ‘frustrated’ after failing to make more of his stunning drive in qualifying to take pole.
A day after calling himself “useless” and questioning whether Ferrari might need to replace him, Lewis Hamilton ended up where he started – in 12th. While Fernando Alonso took Aston Martin’s best result of the season with fifth on a slow track that suited his car. Gabriel Bortoleto was a surprise sixth for Sauber and Lance Stroll seventh in the other Aston Martin.
with AAP