Lando Norris secured a commanding victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking his first win of the season and bolstering his championship defence. The race was notably shaped by an unusual collision involving teammate Oscar Piastri, which Norris exploited to take the lead.
Starting from pole position, Norris experienced a less-than-ideal getaway, allowing Piastri to overtake him early on. However, the momentum shifted when Piastri attempted to lap Williams driver Carlos Sainz. An ill-timed move resulted in contact between Piastri’s front-right tyre and Sainz’s rear-left, causing Piastri to run off the track and lose valuable seconds.
“Get out of the f****** way you idiot, oh my God,” Piastri exclaimed in frustration following the incident, which saw him fall back behind Norris.
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Norris took immediate advantage, pitting for fresh tyres and emerging in the lead. He later overtook Kimi Antonelli on lap 46 and maintained control to cross the finish line first.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, with Antonelli in third. Antonelli’s podium finish further extended his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton from 45 to 50 points. Hamilton, who faced challenges throughout the race, ended fourth but was demoted to fifth after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane-dropping behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton’s race was marred by strategic missteps and a difficult battle with Verstappen, despite running on the fastest soft tyre compound. A clash of tyres between Hamilton and Verstappen at the third bend added to the tension, though neither driver sustained damage.
George Russell overcame a poor start, where his Mercedes engine briefly stalled leaving him at 19th place after the first lap. Through determined driving, he climbed back to seventh by the race’s end but remains 59 points behind the championship leader.
The race also unfolded with other key moments. Leclerc slipped from second to fifth at the start, while Hamilton’s undercut strategy initially succeeded only for Verstappen to reclaim the position swiftly.
Piastri’s afternoon further deteriorated when a gearbox failure forced retirement 14 laps from the finish. A Virtual Safety Car period enabled Norris to execute a third pit stop while retaining his lead.
Hamilton’s final pit stop saw him exit alongside Antonelli. Although he initially gained fourth position, he was ordered to yield back to Antonelli and later penalised for pit lane speeding. Frustrated, Hamilton voiced his discontent with the officials over the radio.
With the Hungarian Grand Prix concluded, Hamilton now faces an increased points deficit heading into the summer break. The championship battle will resume in the Netherlands on August 23, with 12 rounds remaining in the season.