Brit Lando Norris has won the Hungarian Grand Prix for McLaren’s first victory of the season, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli extended his overall lead.
New Zealand’s Liam Lawson finished eighth, improving three places from his starting position.
He gained positions from the start and then, on a two-stop strategy, his fresher tyres near the end of the race allowed him to pass Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad, who finished 10th.
Lawson’s four points means he has overtaken Pierre Gasly for ninth in the drivers’ standings with 43 points, while Racing Bulls have improved to fifth outright in the constructors’ standings.
British McLaren driver Lando Norris.
Xavi Bonilla / PHOTOSPORT
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, with Antonelli third, after a likely McLaren one-two evaporated, when Oscar Piastri pulled over with a mechanical failure 14 laps from the end at the Hungaroring.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli’s closest title rival, finished fourth on track, but dropped to fifth behind teammate Charles Leclerc, after a five-second post-race penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
“My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had,” said Norris. “The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race.
“I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again.”
Russell seventh after start nightmare
Mercedes’s George Russell finished seventh, after a disastrous start that dropped him to 19th, and remained third in the overall standings, but 59 points behind his 19-year-old Italian teammate.
The win from pole position was Norris’s 12th victory and second in a row in Hungary, but it could have been Piastri’s day, after the Australian took the lead on the opening lap from third place on the starting grid.
His chances then took a literal blow, when a collision with backmarker Carlos Sainz’s Williams delayed him enough to allow Norris, who had stayed out longer before a second change of tyres, to pit and come out ahead.
Piastri’s retirement triggered a virtual safety car, with Norris and the Ferrari drivers pitting, while Verstappen and Antonelli stayed out.
“I didn’t expect to be on the podium today, but we worked hard for it,” said Verstappen, who lost out to Hamilton after the first pitstop, but took the place back with a bold overtake a lap later.
“I saw the opportunity, It was my only one, I just went for it,” said the four-time world champion. “We’re good on the brakes, so that helped, but it was all under control.”
Antonelli had started seventh after a three-place grid penalty, but completed a day of damage limitation better than might have been expected.
“It was really hard to overtake, so we had to do something with strategy,” said the Italian. “Initially, we tried to go for the one stop, but then they told me the tyre was too much on the limit, so we stopped.
“With the virtual safety car, the two Ferraris boxed. I knew it would be very hard, because I was on hards, they were on softs, but luckily we were able to keep them behind.”
The championship now takes it’s summer break with the next race in the Netherland’s on 23 August.
– Reuters with additional reporting from RNZ