The choice for a 1-stopper finally worked out well for Norris, who, despite the pressure of Piastri, was the first to cross the line on the Hungaroring. George Russell (Mercedes) finished third at a great backlog. Verstappen did not appear in the play, in a very difficult weekend for Red Bull. Piastri remains the World Cup leader, with a nine point lead over Norris.
Lando Norris loses ground in the initial phase
Charles Leclerc, who started from pole position, did not get into trouble in the initial phase and retained the lead, before Piastri. Behind it, Norris was surprised by George Russell and Fernando Alonso, so he fell to fifth place. He then caught up with Alonso in the seventh round.
Verstappen, after a difficult qualification for Red Bull, started eighth, losed a place to Liam Lawson after the start. He took it back the round afterwards and then quickly catch up with Lance Stroll. Then Verstappen was stuck behind Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber).
Max Verstappen soon reports problems
Leclerc surprised everything and everyone, including himself, with pole position on Saturday. He continued the Good Line on Sunday, because he steadily built his lead over Piastri. Behind it, Norris increased the pressure on Russell, but the Mercedes driver held up in third place.
Verstappen quickly reported problems with his tires and failed to threaten Bortoleto. The backlog on the ‘leading group’ (Leclerc, Piastri, Russell and Norris) therefore became very large. The four -time world champion had little grip on the Hungaroring all weekend and that was no different during the head meal on Sunday.
Charles Leclerc remains Oscar Piastri for after first pit stop
Red Bull decided to bring Verstappen in after the seventeenth round for a pit stop. As a result, he fell back to the sixteenth position. A round later, the Piastri World Cup leader also came in, hoping to outwit the leading Leclerc with a undercut.
Leclerc and Ferrari responded a stop later with a stop, after which the Monegask returned to the track just before Piastri. In the meantime, Verstappen won positions from backwards – after his relatively early stop, but said about the radio that the chosen strategy was not smart, because it ended up in a lot of traffic and therefore asked a lot of his tires. He then got stuck in a DRS train behind, among others, Lewis Hamilton.
Intimi, team members and competitors about anniversary Max Verstappen: “I thought: Holy Moly, where does he come from?”
Other strategy Lando Norris
Verstappen managed to pass Hamilton (the stewards study this moment after the race) in the thirtyth of a total of seventy laps and shortly thereafter also had Isack Hadjar. In the front, Norris only came in after the 31st round, since he opted for a 1-stopper. The Brit fell back to fourth place, making the first position a prey again for Leclerc.
The Monegask stopped for a second time after forty laps and Piastri was brought in five laps later by McLaren for his second pit stop. As a result, Norris came back to the lead with his other strategy. After 48 laps, Verstappen came in for the second time and fell back from the fifth to the ninth place.
McLaren takes control
With twenty rounds ahead, McLaren finally took control. Piastri caught up with a heavily frustrated Leclerc and thus took over the second place. Leclerc was disappointed and stated over the on -board radio in unmistakable words that Ferrari had made the wrong choices, probably with the adjustment of the car. Nine laps before the end, he was also overtaken by Russell after a heated fight, causing him to fall outside the stage.
In the final phase, Piastri started the attack on teammate Norris, but just failed to take the Brit the victory. For Norris it meant his fifth victory of this season. Far behind it, Verstappen had to do it with ninth place, so he was no longer able to win positions after his second pit stop.