After a chaotic incident occurred within McLaren in the last twenty or so laps, Oscar Piastri won the Hungarian Grand Prix, earning his first Formula One victory.
"I stated that becoming an F1 driver was my first professional dream. The other is coming out on top in a race. Therefore, yes, I'm quite delighted and proud—not just of myself, but of everyone who has assisted me in achieving this status" Piastri said. "Naturally, my primary priority is returning to my family. made several difficult choices when he was younger in order to pursue his F1 goal. It takes a lot of determination to become an F1 driver in Australia, therefore making important decisions at a young age was necessary. Yes, I'm simply really happy that those choices have paid off and that we were able to justify the effort."
Lando Norris pitted ahead of Piastri in the last round of pit stops with the intention of covering Lewis Hamilton rather than undercutting Piastri. "Don't worry about Lando," the Australian driver, who had taken the lead on the first lap, was informed over the radio during the pit stop. The Australian driver went on to dominate the race for a significant amount of it.
However, Piastri came in behind Norris when he pitted shortly after. After Max Verstappen pitted from the lead, Norris led and McLaren finished first and second.
After that round of pit stops, Piastri's chances of winning for the first time were remote. Until orders were given to the crew. Over the radio, McLaren instructed Norris to "re-establish the order at your convenience." Later on, Piastri was informed that once he caught up to Norris, they would switch places. However, Norris remained mute at times on the radio and didn't respond at first.
At one point, his race engineer said, “Oscar’s 3.5. I know you’ll do the right thing.”
"With five laps remaining, the team is the best way to win a championship," Norris heard over the radio. Oscar and the crew are going to be necessary for you. With three circuits remaining, Norris slowed on the pit straight and allowed his teammate to pass. By starting Piastri before Norris, for example, this ugly issue may have been avoided.
Hamilton was leading Norris by 25.5 seconds at the time of his pit stop, and the McLaren drivers gradually pulled away from the Mercedes driver in the closing circuits. McLaren wasn't happy with Norris' tire-saving maneuver, so he was advised to slow down. Piastri, though, also had to catch up to his colleague.
"Thank you very much, everyone, for everything. I appreciate your cooperation. As calm as ever, Piastri apologized on the radio for making the move a little bit more difficult than it needed to be. "Thank you, appreciate that, well done," he remarked after earning his maiden victory.
On the track, Verstappen tried to pass Hamilton, but Hamilton's front right tire collided with Verstappen's rear left tire. This resulted in a spectacular spectacle on the track as the Red Bull driver's rear shot skyward. Verstappen was slowed down by this, but he continued throughout the race.
Verstappen finished fifth and missed the podium, while Hamilton finished third and recorded his 200th podium result.
In the end, it was quite an controversial-packed race. As we are heading to Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, will we see another drivers come out on top of the podium?
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