Piastri triumphed for the first time in his career! Hungarian GP offered internal drama and high emotions, Verstappen collided with Hamilton

The Hungarian GP offered a surprisingly dramatic spectacle, at least at the end. Oscar Piastri lost the lead he had gained after the start of the race thanks to an undercut by teammate Lando Norris, but the emotional team direction gave him his first Formula 1 victory. It was also the seventh different driver to finish on the top step of the podium in thirteen races! Lewis Hamilton finished third after a heavy collision with Max Verstappen, who can thank his luck that he finished the grand prix at all after his flying day.

• Oscar Piastri wins the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren gets a double
• Lewis Hamilton scores 200th career podium
• The race at the Hungaroring brought great emotions as Verstappen collided with Hamilton

This year’s Formula One season mathematically entered its second half with the 13th stop at the Hungaroring in Hungary. The imaginary one of the two domestic grand prizes of Czech and Slovak fans hosted the race of the queen of motorsport for the 39th time. The first ever VC of Hungary took place in 1986 as the premiere F1 grand prix behind the so-called Iron Curtain.

Practice and qualifying were generally run by McLaren. Lando Norris not only dominated most of the practice sessions, but also took pole position, even with just one attempt in the final qualifying session. Both the Briton’s teammate Oscar Piastri and reigning world champion Max Verstappen got the chance to run two fast laps, but both failed to humble Norris, although they were within a tenth of a second of each other.

A squeeze at turn one, Piastri into the lead

For the first time in 12 years, the front row was claimed by both McLaren drivers. Verstappen was down to three positions on the grid, and for the second time in two Grands Prix he did not make the front row. The start itself, however, was best handled by Piastri, who managed to fit his front wheels next to the rear of his teammate’s car. However, Verstappen was able to take advantage of the solid slipstream and the Piastri-Norris-Verstappen trio went wheel-to-wheel into the first corner.

The Red Bull driver chose an extreme track on the outside of Turn 1 and once he found both mclarens on the right side with Piastri on the apex, Verstappen was left with no room to exit, which caused him to leave the track and return to it between Piastri and Norris.

Norris immediately argued into the radio the illegal advantage gained by Verstappen. Although the three-time champion himself countered with his own view that he had been forced off the circuit, he eventually conceded second position back to Norris on lap four under threat of a penalty.

The opening third of the race was comfortably guarded by McLaren, with Piastri leading the way by around three seconds on teammate Norris. Third-placed Verstappen gradually pulled away from the Briton to a similar time gap, and in turn faced a charging Lewis Hamilton. the 39-year-old Mercedes driver managed to keep his gap to his rivals at one second at the front, offering a sure-fire opportunity for a strategic attack on the podium.

Hammer time for Hamilton, but Verstappen is back in the game

Mercedes launched this attack on lap 17 when the team called Hamilton into the pits for hard rubber. He immediately started a rapid pace, which McLaren and Norris responded to on the very next lap. But the Orange’s pit stop itself was slightly delayed and the cushion between Norris and Hamilton dropped to around three seconds.

Perhaps surprisingly, McLaren pulled Piastri into the pits just a circuit after Hamilton. What’s more, he sent the 23-year-old Australian out on an identical set of tyres to his teammate Norris. Verstappen, on the other hand, lasted on medium tyres until lap 21, although he had earlier complained on the radio about his lack of grip and confidence in his car.

This briefly put Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari in the lead with Piastri and Norris behind him. Hamilton’s undercut on Verstappen worked out for the time being and the seven-time world champion gained fourth position as a result. After Leclerc’s stop on lap 23, that position improved by one place with Piastri back in the lead at the Hungarian VC.

Although Hamilton gained track position on Verstappen thanks to his early stop, with each lap the gap between the two champions narrowed. By lap 33, Verstappen was under a second behind his rival for the 2021 title and two laps later he signalled a manoeuvre into turn one.

However, Hamilton braked, which drew Verstappen into a direct attack into turn two. But the Hasselt native failed to do so, forcing himself off the track. In these moments, the Piastri leader lost enormously on his teammate Norris and a comfortable lead of around four seconds suddenly became just a second and a half.

Hamilton vs. Verstappen 2024 edition, Piastri wins thanks to team direction

Even as things got more complicated for McLaren, the pairing of Piastri and Norris continued to run away from their rivals behind them. A struggling Hamilton continued to keep Verstappen behind him, drawing fifth-placed Leclerc into this battle for the podium. This lasted until lap 40, when both Hamilton and Leclerc went to the mechanics for a second time. In the end, Hamilton’s puncture gave McLaren a near ten-second lead on the rest of the field.

While that lead was reduced lap by lap as Verstappen returned to clean air, McLaren was on course for a double victory. However, the preferential stop landed in Norris’ lap. The resulting undercut, a pit stop by Piastri two laps later and a subsequent stop by Verstappen on lap 50 put Norris into the race lead.

While McLaren internally haggled over the order at the finish, a frustrated Verstappen, annoyed at the failed strategy, pressed dangerously on fourth-placed Leclerc, but to no avail until lap 57. After a manoeuvre finally worked on the Monegasque, he set about catching Hamilton for the second time in the race. However, there was a terrifying moment on lap 63 when Verstappen collided with Hamilton’s Mercedes after an aggressive charge into Turn 1. The rear of Verstappen’s red bull lifted significantly, a miracle that his suspension held up after hitting the tarmac.

Verstappen dropped back to fifth place behind Leclerc on his return to the track and it was incredible that the Dutchman continued the race at all. The unexpected drama continued at the front, where Norris initially refused to slow and let his teammate Piastri take the lead. Vigorous communication from his team engineer eventually forced Norris to slow considerably on lap 68, handing the win to Piastri.

the 23-year-old Melbourne native became the seventh different winner this Formula One season after crossing the line. Norris completed the McLaren double, while Hamilton finished third, completing his second 100 podium finishes. Leclerc and Verstappen completed the top five positions. The Dutchman’s lead at the head of the championship has thus been slightly reduced to a still comfortable 76 points.

Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix results (Race 13/24, 70 laps = 306.630 km; top 10 only):

1. Oscar Piastri (Aus., McLaren) 1:38:01.989
2. Lando Norris (Brit., McLaren) +2.141
3. Lewis Hamilton (Brit., Mercedes) +14.880
4. Charles Leclerc (Mon., Ferrari) +19.686
5. Max Verstappen (Niz., Red Bull) +21.349
6. Carlos Sainz (Span., Ferrari) +23.073
7. Sergio Pérez (Mex., Red Bull) +39.792
8. George Russell (Brit., Mercedes) +42.368
9. Yuki Cunoda (Jap., RB) +1:17.259
10. Lance Stroll (Can., Aston Martin) +1:17.976

2024 Formula One drivers’ standings (after race 13/24; top 10 only):

1. Max Verstappen (Niz., Red Bull) 265 points
2. Lando Norris (Brit., McLaren) 189
3. Charles Leclerc (Mon., Ferrari) 162
4. Carlos Sainz (Span., Ferrari) 154
5. Oscar Piastri (Aus., McLaren) 149
6. Lewis Hamilton (Brit., Mercedes) 125
7. Sergio Pérez (Mex., Red Bull) 124
8. George Russell (Brit., Mercedes) 116
9. Fernando Alonso (Spa., Aston Martin) 45
10. Lance Stroll (Can., Aston Martin) 24

Sources: F1, X