Qualifying<\/a> at the Hungaroring \u2013 with Leclerc outpacing the McLaren duo to grab an unexpected pole position \u2013 attentions shifted to Sunday\u2019s 70-lap Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before F1\u2019s traditional summer break.<\/p>\nIn the wake of that eventful grid-deciding session, one change had been made to the starting order during the build-up to race day. It was confirmed that Tsunoda would be required to start from the pit lane, due to Red Bull having replaced power unit elements in his car \u2013 as well as changing the brake cooling configuration \u2013 under parc ferme conditions.<\/p>\n
While rain had fallen in Budapest earlier on Sunday, the drivers were greeted by dry, gusty and slightly cooler conditions as the start time neared, with a 20 per cent chance of rainfall predicted during the race.<\/p>\n
When the tyre blankets were removed once the cars had assembled on the grid for the anticipated two-stop event, it was revealed that the majority of the field would start on the medium compound, the exceptions being Sainz, Hulkenberg and Albon on the softs, and Hamilton and Gasly running the hards.<\/p>\n
Once the formation lap had been completed and the lights went out, Leclerc made a good launch off the line to hold the lead into Turn 1, while Norris attempted to move down the inside of Piastri but, after braking early, allowed Russell to slip through into third.<\/p>\n
There was further trouble for Norris as Alonso soon snatched P4, pushing the Briton down to fifth. Elsewhere, Verstappen had lost a place to former team mate Lawson \u2013 only to retake it later in the lap \u2013 while Stroll had dropped backwards to seventh.<\/p>\n
As Lap 3 ticked down, Norris swept past Alonso on the main straight to get himself back up to fourth. Verstappen, meanwhile, was also on the move, the Dutchman having overtaken Stroll for P7 before starting to chase down Bortoleto up ahead for sixth \u2013 a driver noted by Race Control for a potential false start.<\/p>\n
Hulkenberg was the first to pit on Lap 6, the Kick Sauber driver swapping his soft tyres for a set of mediums. Like his team mate, the German driver had also been noted for a possible false start. Elsewhere, up at the front, Leclerc had built a lead of nearly three seconds from Piastri, with Norris trying to catch Russell for fourth while Alonso was heading a DRS train in fifth.<\/p>\n
Hadjar \u2013 who had lost a place earlier on to Bearman \u2013 seemed to be in some discomfort, the Frenchman reporting that his hand had been hit by gravel flicked up from the car ahead during the opening lap.<\/p>\n
There was bad news for Hulkenberg, the German having received a five-second penalty for that false start, while no further action was taken in regards to Bortoleto. Up ahead, questions were started to emerge over strategy as the race headed towards Lap 10, with Piastri asked about the possibility of a one-stop race.<\/p>\n
“Difficult to know with so many laps to go,\u201d the Australian responded. Team mate Norris, meanwhile, was told that he needed to get past Russell, the McLaren having found himself stuck behind the Mercedes. Others struggling to overtake included Hamilton, the Ferrari man running close to Antonelli in a battle for 13th.<\/p>\n
As Lap 15 arrived, Leclerc was now ahead of Piastri by just over three seconds, while others further back were starting to make pit stops, including Colapinto, Albon and Ocon. Sainz was the next to swap his soft tyres for the hards, but the frontrunning cars showed no signs of pitting yet.<\/p>\n
Piastri, meanwhile, was encourage to push \u2013 and subsequently started to eat into Leclerc\u2019s advantage, the gap down to 2.3s by Lap 18. On the same tour, Verstappen was the first in the top 10 to pit, the Red Bull man emerging with hard tyres on in an attempt to undercut Alonso and Bortoleto.<\/p>\n
Another driver trying an undercut was Piastri, having been told \u201cbox to overtake Leclerc\u201d. The McLaren emerged back on track between Alonso and Bortoleto \u2013 while Leclerc made his own pit stop for the hard compound shortly afterwards.<\/p>\n
Leclerc returned to the track still ahead of Piastri, with that lap having seemingly not been enough for the Australian to warm up his tyres. However, the McLaren team radioed in to warn that Leclerc may struggle with the same issue on his own out-lap.<\/p>\n
Norris, meanwhile, had inherited the lead after remaining out on track, while Piastri had overtaken Alonso \u2013 yet to pit \u2013 for P3. The situation for Norris posed some interesting strategy questions, with the Briton asked about the possibility of Plan A and Plan B. Would the squad attempt a one-stop?<\/p>\n
McLaren were not the only ones keeping a driver out on track. Alonso \u2013 still running his medium starting tyre \u2013 lost P4 to Russell on Lap 26, while Verstappen \u2013 one of the early stoppers \u2013 reported that his own strategy had been a \u201creally terrible idea\u201d, having spent much of the race since in traffic as he tried to make gains from P12.<\/p>\n
As the Dutchman set about chasing down former title rival Hamilton for 11th place, Piastri was questioning whether a one-stop strategy could work, leading to the response that it could prove difficult. On the other side of the garage, Norris was asked for his thoughts on doing a one-stop himself, to which he responded: \u201cYeah, why not!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can feel what we discussed before the race,\u201d Leclerc cryptically reported, before going on to state that the issue would cause the Scuderia to \u201close this race\u201d. The Monegasque was running some 1.6s ahead of Piastri with 40 laps remaining.<\/p>\n
Further back, Verstappen boldly moved down the inside of Hamilton into Turn 4 to take P11, with the Ferrari subsequently going wide \u2013 an incident that was noted by Race Control. Elsewhere, Norris pitted on Lap 32 for the hard tyres on a rapid 1.9s stop, bringing him back out on track in P4 ahead of Alonso.<\/p>\n
As the race reached its halfway point, Leclerc was leading Piastri by just under two seconds, with Russell running in third some eight seconds ahead of Norris. Alonso, Bortoleto, Stroll and Lawson were all still to pit in fifth to eighth respectively, while Verstappen and Hamilton rounded out the top 10.<\/p>\n
Stroll was the first Aston Martin to pit on Lap 37, returning to the track with the hard tyres bolted on. Elsewhere, Norris was looking fast as he tried to chase down Russell, the Briton dipping a wheel as he pushed hard. This charge had brought his distance to the leaders down to just 13.9s by Lap 40.<\/p>\n
Shortly afterwards, Leclerc made another pit stop for a second set of the hard rubber, bringing him back out in fourth around seven seconds behind Norris. Piastri \u2013 now in the lead \u2013 was subsequently told to push, the Australian now leading by 9.2s from Russell.<\/p>\n
While the stewards confirmed that the earlier incident between Verstappen and Hamilton would be investigated after the race, the former \u2013 running in P5 \u2013 was informed that Red Bull were considering keeping him on a one-stop strategy. \u201cIt’s not going to be easy,\u201d the Dutchman reported.<\/p>\n
With Russell pitting for the hard compound \u2013 and returning to the track in fourth \u2013 Norris had been promoted to second and was now 8.7s away from his team mate. As Lap 46 ticked down, Piastri dived into the pits and rejoined in third, five seconds back from Leclerc in P2 and a further 12s adrift of new leader Norris. Could Piastri or Leclerc catch the Briton before the chequered flag?<\/p>\n
As the race moved towards the final 20 laps, Verstappen could not hold out any longer on his medium tyres and pitted for a set of hards, bringing him back out into P9 just ahead of Antonelli. Piastri, meanwhile, had caught Leclerc and made a move into Turn 1 to snatch P2 from the Ferrari.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Bearman became the first retiree from the race, the Haas driver having reported that his car was \u201cbroken\u201d after struggling for grip. It also seemed to be turning into a tough day for Leclerc, who voiced his frustration about his SF-25 being \u201cundriveable\u201d before suggesting that a podium finish would be a \u201cmiracle\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Monegasque\u2019s position did indeed look to be at risk, with Russell closing the gap down to 3.1s with 15 laps to go. Up ahead, Piastri was now 5.6s away from Norris and lapping quickly \u2013 setting up a thrilling conclusion to the race.<\/p>\n
By Lap 60 of 70, that gap had come down to 3.3s \u2013 while Russell was mere tenths away from a struggling Leclerc in the scrap for third. The Silver Arrows driver looked at making a lunge into Turn 1, only for Leclerc to cover him off.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was moving under braking!\u201d an irritated Russell complained. The Briton was warned to keep cool \u2013 and seemed to do so when he repeated the move at the same place one lap later. This time he made it stick, though was still left unhappy with Leclerc\u2019s defensive moves on track in an incident that was set to be investigated by the stewards.<\/p>\n
As the stewards also put Gasly and Sainz under investigation for a collision at Turn 2 \u2013 leading to a 10-second penalty for Gasly \u2013 all eyes were on the battle at the front. With six laps to go, Piastri was only 1.2s behind Norris \u2013 just as the leader was approaching traffic to lap in the form of Hamilton, Hadjar and Antonelli.<\/p>\n
After clearing those cars, the gap had dropped to just 0.6s as the final two laps approached. A late lunge on Lap 69 failed to pay off for Piastri, who locked up and just missed his team mate. \u201cRemember how we go racing,\u201d the 24-year-old was warned.<\/p>\n
With one more attempt remaining, Piastri ultimately was too far back to make a move on the final tour \u2013 meaning that Norris crossed the line to take victory by 0.698s from his team mate and in the process cutting Piastri\u2019s lead in the World Championship down to just nine points.<\/p>\n
Russell completed the podium in third place, while Leclerc held onto fourth despite being handed a five-second time penalty for driving erratically during his scrap with Russell. Alonso took a season-best fifth, while Bortoleto \u2013 a driver managed by the Spaniard \u2013 followed in sixth.<\/p>\n
Stroll completed a good day for Aston Martin in P7, while Lawson, Verstappen and Antonelli completed the top 10. Verstappen, however, will still need to visit the stewards post-race for that earlier incident with Hamilton.<\/p>\n
Hadjar claimed 11th place ahead of Hamilton in 12th, followed by Hulkenberg in 13th and the Williams duo of Sainz and Albon in 14th and 15th respectively.<\/p>\n
Ocon placed in P16, with Tsunoda facing another tough outing behind in P17, while Alpine ended a difficult day with Colapinto in P18 from Gasly in the last classified position.<\/p>\n
Bearman proved to be the only retiree of the race in F1\u2019s final outing before the sport embarks on a summer break.<\/p>\n
Key quote<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m dead, I\u2019m dead,” joked Norris as he reflected on his race. “It was tough, it was tough. We weren\u2019t really planning on the one-stop at the beginning, but after the first lap it was kind of our only option to get back into things. It was tough. The final stint with Oscar catching, I was pushing flat-out. My voice has gone a little bit. But good, rewarding even more because of that \u2013 the perfect result today.”<\/p>\n
What’s next<\/p>\n
F1 will now embark on its traditional summer break before returning for the Dutch Grand Prix on the weekend of August 29-31. Head to the RACE HUB<\/a> to find out how you can follow the action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lando Norris has won the Hungarian Grand Prix after holding off a thrilling late-race challenge for the lead…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":116060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-116059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114965868238202132","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}