Oscar Piastri won a highly-dramatic and controversial Hungarian Grand Prix for his first full win in Formula 1 after team-mate Lando Norris eventually heeded pleading messages from the McLaren pit wall to cede a lead he had inherited through their pit-stop strategy.
In a gripping and increasingly contentious 70-lap race, which also saw old rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collide late on in a scrap over third place, Piastri overtook the polesitting Norris at the start and appeared to be impressively cruising towards his first grand prix win in just his 35th start.
But the drivers found their positions reversed for the start of the final stint with Norris jumping Piastri courtesy of a one-lap-earlier stop, which was seemingly timed to ensure the Briton did not lose second place to Hamilton, who had already stopped, behind.
Norris was immediately told after Piastri’s stop that he had to give the place back at a time of his choosing, but drama soon unfolded as lap after lap the 24-year-old stayed in the lead.
As the pit-wall instructions from his race engineer became increasingly stern to move over, Norris finally slowed down on the pit straight with three laps to go and Piastri moved ahead.
Hamilton drove a strong race to claim third, meanwhile, despite a collision with old rival Verstappen into Turn One in the final stint.
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Oscar Piastri takes his first Grand Prix win, followed by Lando Norris for a McLaren 1-2 as Lewis Hamilton joins them on the podium at the Hungarian GP
With Verstappen locking his brakes as he attempted to dive down the inside of the Mercedes, the Red Bull briefly went airborne as the two cars made contact.
While Hamilton stayed third, Verstappen dropped behind Charles Leclerc and finished fifth.
The incident faces a post-race stewards’ investigation.
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Listen to the heated radio messages exchanged after the Hungarian Grand Prix race start
Carlos Sainz was sixth in the second Ferrari with Sergio Perez beating George Russell to seventh following a much-needed strong race after his qualifying crash had left him 16th on the grid.
More to follow…
The action continues next weekend with the final race before F1’s summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix. You can watch every session from Spa-Francorchamps live on Sky Sports F1 from July 26-28. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
