Both McLarens got away well from the front row of the FORMULA 1 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX 2024, with Lando Norris darting across the circuit to squeeze his teammate near the pit wall. They were side-by-side into the first corner and Max Verstappen joined them three wide on the outside. The two McLarens ran to the edge of the circuit, forcing the Red Bull to run wide off the circuit.
Norris had to concede the position to Oscar Piastri, also losing a place to Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes lost the position again after being run wide by Verstappen in the third corner. Verstappen’s overtake in the first corner caught the attention of the stewards, being put under investigation for overtaking off the circuit. Despite a protest by Verstappen, Red Bull instructed their lead driver to allow Norris to overtake on lap four, returning Norris to P2.
Mercedes was the first of the lacking bunch to blink and make their first pit stop on lap 17, in what was projected to be a two-stop race. Hamilton swapped his medium tyres for a set of hards, rejoining the race behind Yuki Tsunoda and ahead of teammate George Russell, who was having a fantastic recovery driver after being eliminated in Q1. Hamilton’s pace on the hard tyres looked strong, giving him the fastest lap.
Both McLarens pitted in the following laps. Norris was in on lap 18 and Piastri on lap 19. It was a few laps before Verstappen pitted for a set of hard tyres, having lost net P3 to Hamilton, who was still lighting up the timing sheets with fast lap after fast lap. Verstappen finally pitted on lap 22, rejoining six seconds behind Hamilton.
Ferrari was the last of the top three teams to pit. Carlos Sainz, who had lost three positions after a poor race start from the second row on the grid, pitted on the same lap as Verstappen. Charles Leclerc pitted a couple of laps later. Both rejoined the race ahead of Tsunoda, who was attempting a one-stop race.
With slightly newer tyres, Verstappen was able to chase down Hamilton, who was running in a podium position. By lap 34, the Red Bull was within DRS range of the Mercedes. Verstappen’s best overtaking chance came the following lap when Hamilton locked up into the first corner, compromising his run down to the second corner. The two former rivals were side-by-side at the exit of the first corner and Verstappen put himself ahead into the second corner. But he lost the position again, out-braking himself into the corner and running wide off the circuit. He expressed his frustration with the brake balance over team radio.
While these two were battling, Leclerc joined the fight for third, climbing within DRS range. Unfortunately for the fans, the battle was neutralized by the second wave of pit stops. Leclerc followed Hamilton into the pit lane, taking a set of the mediums while Hamilton went for the hard tyres.
At the front of the field, McLaren responded to pressure from Hamilton, pitting Norris to cover off the Mercedes. Piastri, who had lost a heap of time to his teammate when he ran off the circuit in turn 11 nearly 15 laps earlier, pitted two laps after his teammate. This handed Norris the net lead of the race, but he was instructed by the team to “re-establish the order” when Piastri caught back up.
That team order appeared to fall on deaf ears, as Norris set multiple laps quicker than his teammate, strengthening his lead. He was instructed multiple times to save tyres so that Piastri could catch up. With no response from the leading McLaren, the team did a radio check to ensure that the Brit could hear the order. He could.
While Norris was expressing his displeasure with the team order of the radio, Verstappen was absolutely fuming with his team’s pit strategy with an expletive-laden message to the Red Bull pit wall. He was finally able to get by Leclerc’s Ferrari in the first corner on lap 57, chasing down the bottom step of the podium in the closing laps of the race.
He caught up to Hamilton on lap 62 and his frustration was clear. He tried an overtake around the outside of the second corner, but Hamilton forced him to the edge of the circuit, potentially as payback for the opening lap. Verstappen was unhappy with the move, complaining over the team radio, but even his team felt the move was clean.
Verstappen’s anger bubbled over the following lap. He braked super late into the first corner, suffering a huge lockup. As Hamilton turned into the corner, Verstappen came straight across, launching the rear of the Red Bull into the air. Verstappen dropped down to P5 with damage. Verstappen again filed a complaint over team radio, but even his team refused to agree with him, calling it “childish” to argue over the team radio. The relationship between Verstappen and the Red Bull pit wall is surely strained after this race.
Back at the front, the McLaren drama continued, as the team urged Norris to give the position back to Piastri. Although it looked as though he was going to refuse the order, having built the gap to more than five seconds, he finally came to a crawl down the main straight, giving the lead back to Piastri with only two laps remaining in the race. Many fans would love to be a fly on the wall at the McLaren debrief later this evening.
This allowed Oscar Piastri to stand on the top step of the podium for the first time in his career, leading McLaren to their first 1-2 finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Norris finished in P2, with an awkward discussion likely awaiting him at the McLaren paddock. Despite a collision with Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton maintained his P3 position to stand on the podium.
Formula One’s summer break is just around the corner. Only one race stands in the way. Next up on the calendar is the Belgian Grand Prix, which will be held on July 28.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70 | 1:38:01.989 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 70 | +2.141 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 70 | +14.880 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 70 | +19.686 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 70 | +21.349 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 70 | +23.073 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 70 | +39.792 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 70 | +42.368 | 5 |  | |
| 9 | 70 | +77.259 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 70 | +77.976 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 70 | +82.460 | |||
| 12 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 13 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 14 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 15 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 16 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 17 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 18 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 19 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| DNF | 33 |
