Lando Norris claimed victory in the 41st Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, securing his first win of the season and the 12th of his Formula One career.
The McLaren driver converted pole position into back-to-back victories at the Hungaroring after also winning last year’s race.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull, while championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli took third for Mercedes to extend his lead in the drivers’ standings.
Antonelli’s podium finish came after both Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate George Russell finished behind the 19-year-old Italian, allowing the championship leader to increase his advantage.
The race began with both McLaren drivers making strong starts. Oscar Piastri, who started third, quickly passed Norris after the pole-sitter made an early mistake. Charles Leclerc endured a poor getaway from the front row and dropped from second to fifth by the end of the opening lap, while Russell’s race was compromised almost immediately after his car entered anti-stall mode, dropping him from sixth to 21st.
After ten laps, Piastri led Norris by around 1.5 seconds, with Verstappen holding third despite complaining about damper issues. Hamilton closed rapidly on the Dutchman and described the Red Bull as ‘very slow’ over team radio before Ferrari attempted an undercut with an early pit stop.
Red Bull immediately responded by bringing Verstappen into the pits on the following lap, but the Dutchman emerged behind Hamilton. He reclaimed the position with a decisive overtaking move at the first corner shortly afterwards.
The opening round of pit stops left the leading order unchanged, with Piastri ahead of Norris and Verstappen, although Antonelli briefly inherited the lead before making his own stop.
Midway through the race, McLaren faced an internal strategic dilemma as Norris reported he was faster than Piastri and wanted to pit first. The team kept to its original strategy, stopping Piastri before Norris. However, heavy traffic after Piastri’s stop, including an incident in which Williams driver Carlos Sainz forced him onto the grass while lapping slower cars, allowed Norris to emerge ahead after his own tyre change.
With 20 laps remaining, Norris led comfortably from Piastri, Antonelli, Hamilton, Verstappen and Leclerc.
The race changed dramatically on lap 56 when Piastri retired with a gearbox failure, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc all made additional pit stops for fresh soft tyres, while Verstappen stayed out. Red Bull’s gamble paid off as the Dutchman’s tyres comfortably lasted the remaining 24 laps.
Hamilton briefly emerged ahead of Antonelli after the pit stops but was instructed to give the position back after an unsafe release. Later in the race, the Ferrari driver received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Norris controlled the closing stages to take the chequered flag ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli. Leclerc finished fourth, while Hamilton dropped to fifth after serving his time penalty.
‘The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend attracted a record crowd of 310,000 spectators…Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar presented the winner’s trophy to Norris’
Russell recovered from his disastrous opening lap to finish seventh behind Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. Liam Lawson, Nico Hülkenberg and Arvid Lindblad completed the points-paying positions.
The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend attracted a record crowd of 310,000 spectators across the three days, the highest attendance in the history of the Hungaroring.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar presented the winner’s trophy to Norris after the race.
Formula One now enters its summer break before returning at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.
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