Norris Claims Victory in Hungary
Lando Norris secured his first Grand Prix victory of the year at the Hungarian Grand Prix, following a race where he initially lost the lead but later regained it. Norris, driving for McLaren, described the car as “unbelievable” and felt his pace was among the best he has ever had. He expressed pride in his team’s efforts to position them for a win.
Norris started from pole position but ran wide through Turn 2, allowing his teammate, Oscar Piastri, to take the lead. Norris then pursued Piastri through the initial stages of the race. McLaren’s strategy involved pitting Piastri for his second stop, which released Norris to set a series of fast laps.
Piastri encountered difficulties, getting caught in traffic with backmarkers and making contact with Carlos Sainz Jr. After Norris completed his pit stop, he emerged ahead of Piastri and then overtook Kimi Antonelli to take the lead. Piastri later retired from the race due to a gearbox issue.
Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal, praised the team’s effort and the drivers’ support for their strategy. Stella noted that Norris’s pace was exceptional, allowing him to secure a victory based on pure speed. He also acknowledged that Piastri deserved to contend for the win, but his race was compromised by an incident with a backmarker and the subsequent gearbox failure. Stella highlighted that the performance improvement seen during the weekend was attributed to upgrades, validating their conceptual direction.
Verstappen and Antonelli on the Podium
Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished second, a strong result despite reported issues with his car throughout the race. Verstappen battled with Lewis Hamilton for a significant portion of the event, making a key overtake to gain position. Red Bull’s decision to use soft tyres for his final stint and not to pit again under the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) proved beneficial, allowing him to hold his position until the end.
Verstappen described it as a “strong day” and was surprised by the second-place finish given the problems encountered during the weekend. He emphasized the team’s good calls and their ability to perform well in the latter half of the race, especially with older tyres. He noted that the start and first pit stop were crucial for maintaining position.
Kimi Antonelli secured third place, marking his ninth podium finish in 11 races. Despite starting from seventh due to a grid penalty and Mercedes‘ performance challenges, Antonelli recovered to make a statement in the title fight. He extended his standings lead over Hamilton to 50 points.
Isack Hadjar, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, finished sixth. Hadjar played a tactical role, holding up some of Verstappen’s rivals during long first and second stints. He described his race as “lonely and tough” but was pleased with another top-six finish, his seventh consecutive one. Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Team Principal, commended both Verstappen and Hadjar for their strong performances, noting that the underlying pace was good enough to compete with all but Norris.
Challenges for Other Teams
Lewis Hamilton faced further penalties during the race, including a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. This penalty caused him to drop behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, in the final standings. Hamilton had previously received a three-place grid penalty in qualifying, his third penalty in three race weekends.
George Russell finished seventh after a near-stall at the start dropped him to the back of the field. Russell is now 59 points behind Antonelli in the standings. Liam Lawson finished eighth for Racing Bulls, followed by Nico Hulkenberg of Audi in ninth, and Lawson’s teammate Arvid Lindblad in tenth.
The Hungarian Grand Prix was the final race before the mid-season break. The next race is the Dutch Grand Prix.
Source: formula1.com
Ethan Brule is a Senior Hockey Writer at CasinoNews. He covered the NHL for a national Canadian outlet. He focuses on the NHL, the Maple Leafs and Team Canada and is known for clear, deadline-driven reporting. He holds a degree in Sports Media from Toronto Metropolitan University. Now based in Toronto, he plays beer-league hockey and follows the junior ranks. “Hockey in Canada is never only about the score.”
